#I want more of Agustín in the future PLEASE | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aggieharkness · 2 years

Text

Hay que encontrar su propio futuro

Summary: She never meant to hurt her family once more, she had only expected to wake up with a hangover not with someone beside her that was about to turn her entire life upside down. She never thought she would get a chance at a new life with someone so different and at the same time so alike. Can they really find a future together?

a/n: Welcome back!! At last, the moment has arrived, so read it with all the love you can muster and enjoy it all as much as you can. A bit of a warning for the next chapter, it will contain smut, so if you are not ready for that, you've been warned... I was going to do one long chapter so I could give you everything, but this one is already my longest ever and I don't want you to get overwhelmed or bored. As always I appreciate feedback and if you have any ideas or what me to write something I'm always here, multitasking as best as I can. Enjoy!! :) I'm Spanish so I used expressions from my own language. I'm afraid I don't know Colombian ones so I had to work with the ones that I know. If there are any Colombians out there that would prefer for me to change what I have written I would very gladly do it, but even so, I hope you like the ones I have used.

warning: age difference, implied sexual content, past use of alcohol. mention of graveyards. Most importantly no Alma Madrigal bashing, i love this woman.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 15 Part 16

Hay que encontrar su propio futuro

-Did you get the garter? Dolores, please, for the love of God tell me that you went to the shop and got it, your abuela can’t go to her own wedding without it!

-Mami, calmate, I went yesterday morning and señor Hernandez gave it to me for free, he insisted it was a present. It's right behind you in that pink box.

-Madre del amor hermoso, now I understand what mamá means when she’s in charge of the parties and says that nothing is ready; how can she get anything done with this level of stress?!

-Pepi, hermanita, you are the only one who’s stressed. Take a deep breath and let Dolores handle it, she’s the Godmother for a reason.

-I still don’t understand why mamá didn't choose you.

-Because I didn’t want to be. I knew you would be all over the place and I’m not omnipotent yet, besides, I have to watch Agustín and make sure he doesn't die before the “I do”.

With the curlers still hot on their hair and wearing their blue and yellow robes they laid all the makeup the family owned on the kitchen table along with brushes, bobby pins, hair ties and lots (and I do mean lots) of hairspray that Rosa had brought as soon as she had managed to escape from her nieto, that today could be confused for a plate full of gelatin. Spring had ended some months ago and the heat that came through the windows stifling everyone inside Casita was a great representation of just how hot summer was going to be this year, the only thing that helped was Pepa’s giddy cold winds that thankfully blew all over the building; it was something that no one understood as of yet, why whenever she was nervous and the wind began to pick up it was always this freezing hellish air what surrounded them and not the normal temperature breeze everyone always expected. Up in the second floor Mirabel had secluded herself in her room to iron her abuela’s dress and leave it absolutely perfect for the ceremony in a few hours, Dolores waving her mamá and tía goodbye as she rushed out the door to check on Isabela and the flowers. How was it that at this time of the day and after having most of the family woken up around dawn, no one had collapsed yet was a miracle as big as that of why black makes you look slimmer and white bigger; shouldn’t it be the other way around? Alma was the only level other headed person apart from Dolores and that was enough to allow her to just go about her day; she had gone through this before and although she was nervous she managed to sleep until eight but her daughters and grandaughters hadn’t managed to keep quiet since about seven and with that much noise bothering her every five seconds she had been forced to get up and face the truth of her day: she was getting married.

After great discussion it had been settled that the wedding was going to be in the afternoon to survive this heat, somewhere around six or seven so they could head for the reception and the dinner around eight and party until the last person standing fell asleep. Isabela and Luisa had left shortly before lunch to make sure the church was ready and there were enough flowers to drown in inside of the temple and outside, the town dressed for the occasion with every single street decorated with wreaths of daisies and pink roses, a beautiful spread of blue, white and purple Canterbury bells with red lilies mixed in the plaza and around the fountain; that last flower had been chosen by Mariano without giving much explanations only a mysterious secret reason that Isa thought was related to something her abuela might like but in reality he had a memory from this “other life” he was grown rather accustomed to where he watched from a distance how Alma’s younger self was walking home with several red lilies for her sister, every day without missing a single one for almost seven years, that counts as something a person likes, right? Luisa had to make sure the church was straight and that the river, which she had rerouted at her mother’s request so it would be closer to the building a few days before, could be heard from every single point and angle of the temple. At first she hadn’t understood very well what her mamá had meant when she had asked for that but later that night she had realised Julieta had wanted her papá close to her mother’s wedding and the only thing she could link to him was the sound of the river, so Luisa worked her ass off to make sure not a rock or twig was out of place and that the waters that run around them were as pure and clear as glass. Reflecting on the surface you could see that the skies were the purest shade of blue anyone had ever seen with not a single cloud in sight, the sun way high up in the sky burning the cobblestones of the streets and the air that swayed lazily in between the scents of fresh flowers that floated around the town. It was a surprise to see that even if Pepa happened to be all over the place, much like Marianowas back at his house, she could still have some semblance of control over her powers thanks to all the practice and reassurance she had got from her mother in this past two years; as a thank you, today Alma would be married with clear skies, no hurricanes or rain even if it cost Pepa her sanity.

As well as the redhead was doing everything in her power to make the day perfect, Julieta had been forbidden from cooking, an order more than a request that Alma had made very clear the instant she had come down for breakfast, watching from the corner of her eye the suitcases Agustín and Felix had been carrying to the carriage outside Casita with the help of the recovered and in excellent shape señor Hernández. There wasn’t room for arguing, not when Dolores was in charge and her abuela had made things very simple so everyone would understand that even though today’s event was for her and Mariano, her family had the right to celebrate and therefor not work; the exception to the rule was that the cake had been finished at dawn by Julieta’s expert hands and put carefully in the ice box before anyone had woken up, away from her husband’s clumsy hands and Camilo’s always hungry metabolism. That’s all she had managed to get done in secret with her hysterical sister stuck to her back looking for things that were already there and others that weren’t necessary, and her missing hermano, because no one had seen Bruno since dinner. Although they were worried he had missed breakfast, his door was still glowing, a sign that he was still there, somewhere and if he dared miss his own mother’s wedding he would have to face the wrath of not only Alma, but his sisters, nephews and nieces, Rosa and the soon to be husband, Mariano and as dumb as Bruno could be sometimes he wouldn’t risk his life like that. Wherever he was, her sisters just hoped he wasn’t planning on getting into any mischief before the ceremony, afterwards it could always be blamed on the alcohol.

Camilo entered the kitchen, his hair soaking in a nutritious deep in conditioner hidden underneath a bright orange bonnet so he could later define his curls, little Antonio with a much similar outfit holding a little bag of painting brushes while his brother dropped his own makeup kit on the table with such force the legs cricked under the weight earning a scornful glance from his mother. Everything had to be in one place for everyone to grab if they needed it, there was no time to waste screaming through the halls where someone’s blush was or if anyone had taken a lipstick, they were already far too tense to worry about such a trivial thing. In the midst of it all they had forgotten to check on the most important person, Alma, who was sitting over the covers of her bed in her usual magenta dress rigling her hands on her lap as she looked intensely at the picture she carried of her Pedro inside her locket. Was she doing the right thing? Couples argued, that was natural, but her and Mariano’s disputes, as few as they had been, were big, like huge compared to the ones that she had had with Pedro and sitting here while hearing her family get ready she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all. He was young and had an entire life ahead of him, she felt guilty about taking so many chances away like starting a family of his own but in her heart she felt that even if there was a little sparkle of love and hope she could go ahead with it all. She had had nothing back when she had married Pedro, they built a life together out of thin air, now she had the entire world at her feet and yet she couldn’t care less as long as she looked into his eyes and still felt the butterflies flying inside her chest. For once the logical part of her brain could go to hell.

Lunch was a thing of the past and had gone by in the strangest way ever, picking up sandwiches off of a plate that had been placed buffet style on the kitchen counter as everyone went about their chores with barely any time to eat. If they hadn't left things for the last minute they wouldn’t have had to have such a shabby meal and they could have sat all together at the table to enjoy a home made lunch, but this whole pick what you can and run sort of meal was what they needed, at least today. Rosa had sneaked some for her grandson when she had accompanied Isabela and Dolores to the plaza earlier in the morning, through one of his friends who had made sure her nieto couldn't see her or he wouldn’t have let her leave in a thousand years, hearing Mariano scream where his cufflinks were while she passed a few sandwiches and a ton of cut up fruit for the growing boys, only for him to be reminded by another voice that he wasn’t going to be wearing any. How was he going to survive this day? No idea. It had taken her months to finally start accepting that Alma was all he needed and that her nieto was all her best friend had ever wanted but the age difference was something too big to wrap one's head around in just a few days, though in the end Rosa had understood that this was happening whether she liked it or not and she didn’t want to lose her family over something that she knew was clearly love. And what an erratic, eclectic and explosive love it was, Rosa had spent days without barely seeing him because he had planned something for Alma and he and other times she could barely make him leave the house based on the excuse that today his partner was busy on family duties and he wanted her to have that time as well. Rosa had a couple of ideas on why he stayed inside though: make more plans, save some more money to buy her pretty flowers and food, tons of food, and probably to let her have some well deserved space away from such a buoyant man, as a twenty three year old usually is. Then when the argument happened Rosa’s entire world shifted from not being very sure of this whole thing to wanting to rip the insides of his own nieto out for making a woman, not just her best friend, fall in love to then hurt her endlessly. Anger and frustration had been her day to day attitude for an entire week trying to come to terms with what he had told her the night of the incident when he had explained to her his real intentions towards Alma, when everything at last really dawned on her. They were in love and in her mind she couldn’t let one quarrel throw such an important thing away, although in the end the plans Dolores’ and her had been working on hadn’t been needed, they went back to each other of their own accord. Don’t they say love is blind?

And it all came down to this day: a wedding, her nieto’s wedding and to be more specific, to her best friend. Rosa was currently standing in front of Mirabel’s room waiting to get the dress out of the girls wardrobe praying that Alma hadn’t gained any weight in the last few days, there wasn’t any physical time to fix the garment before the ceremony and she couldn’t remember how to handle a nervous breakdown properly, she usually picked up a glass, filled it with some ron añejo and chuck it down in one gulp. Effective most of the time but not very pleasant for people not used to alcoholic drinks. Down in the courtyard the front door open to let Dolores, Isa and Luisa while up in the second floor Alma’s eyes rested on the picture of her soon to be ex husband, her beloved Pedro, letting her mind wonder how things might have been if he had made it out alive, if he had got to watch their children grow up, help them play pranks on her and the village, hearing their laughter run through the walls of Casita… In the end they were dreams, her life had been completely different and if Pedro had been alive Mariano would have been a friend of her nietas, nothing more, nothing less and she wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of becoming anything but maybe an acquaintance. She wouldn’t have minded, of course, her beloved Pedro would have been with her, but in the circumstances of the real world she was more than happy to engage in holy matrimony with someone who had both dark and light and with whom she could learn all the things she hadn’t got the chance the first time. It had been maybe an hour since she had secluded herself in her room and she knew she should head down to the kitchen before Pepa barged in in absolute panic, the poor thing wasn’t handling all this stress well, she hadn’t back during her own wedding, Alma couldn’t expect her to control herself during hers, but she’d rather stay in her room for a little longer enjoying the silence and peace of being a widow for just a few more minutes. Mariano had made it very clear after they had made their engagement official that Pedro was to be part of their lives, he didn’t want her to try and get him to fit a shoe that wasn’t his to wear and she had agreed; each were their own person and each had brought and would bring wonderful new things to her life.

Soon enough the first knock came disturbing the silence, signalling her that her single life was about to end and after a deep breath while putting the locket away in a drawer for the first time in fifty years she headed for the door ready to be a bride. Upon opening it she found Rosa smiling softly at her with Julieta behind her, a couple of hot rollers in her hand, flashing her mother a happy grin before returning to work on Rosa’s hair. There wasn’t a minute to waste, not when you had ten people to dress, not counting Bruno, who they only wished wouldn’t wear his ugly worn out sandals and put on a nice pair of shoes for once in his life. The kitchen was a mess of people and movement, Isabela straightening her hair with the iron while Dolores helped little Antonio with his curls after having washed the conditioner off in the sink, Camilo and Mirabel arguing in angry whispers about what colour codes to chose for the accessories while Luisa calmly brushed her soft waves in front of a hand mirror, the only free one in the entire house. Pepa rushed to her mother in under a second pulling a chair and forcing her to sit down while talking a mile per minute, each single word passing around Alma’s head like sand that gets blown away by the wind, her eyes simply looking at the way her Pepa’s lips moved without having any idea what her daughter was saying. A couple of words managed to make their way to her brain, but together they made no sense whatsoever so after a few minutes of hearing radio waves instead of a natural paced conversation she just gave up and let the metaphorical hurricane of her girl sweep her into the air. Alma’s meticulous hairdo started coming undone by the expert and kind hands of Julieta while Rosa helped Luisa do a half up half down with a lovely indigo bow, Pepa grabbing the curling iron from the table before Camilo could snatch it for Mirabel, the entire side wall filled with bags where their suits and dresses where neatly kept.

How strange it all was, not the wedding itself but how well her family blended together when faced with such a happy event. She hadn’t seen Isabela and Mirabel laugh so hard at something so simple as a uneven eyeliner but it brought joy to see that after the huge gap between the sisters caused by Alma's own wrong doings, they had learned and were now the best of friends, just like when Pepa and Julieta had been young and the redhead had argued with the brunette days on end because of the stupidest things like a missing scarf or a better mark in school. Life was nice now, with living, and she wouldn’t change any of this, not even the slightest detail even if she could.

-Alma, tell me, how did Osvaldo take your rejection? -Rosa looked over the top of Luisa's head while her fingers worked in braiding the girl's waves.

-I didn’t reject him, I explained that I was never free, sort of speak. He’s a nice man but I think he’s destined to be a bachelor forever.

-I suppose so, but you can’t tell me that it wasn’t funny having half the village after you before you announced your engagement.

-Not really, I had a psychopath stalking me for years who almost killed a man. -the way Julieta's fingers turned white at the forced used to take the pins out, lips thin as lines, didn't go unnoticed by Pepa and Rosa, Alma feeling the stronger and a bit more painful pull as Juli took one of the hairpins out letting a strand cascade down her mother's back.

-I was not talking about the butcher, which reminds me, Sofia is doing great with the store. Like she’s getting even more customers than Pablo did when he owned it.

-I’m glad, but it makes me much happier that she returned to the village even after what happened. If it makes Mariano happy, it makes me happy; I’ve said that word too many times now it makes no sense. Happy, happy.

-We are drifting, Alma. Doesn't having men after you make you feel, I don’t know, wanted?

-It flatters me, but I’m not defined by how many men want me or think they want me and saying it on my wedding day should count for something, so I hope that’s argument enough.

-Great way of dodging the question.

-I’m not dodging anything Rosa. Are you so desperate for me to leave your nieto alone that even today you are trying to get me with Osvalod?

-Madre del amor hermoso, no. I’d rather have you marry my Marianito than him, I’m not saying I have anything against Osvaldo but… please, the quality of my nieto's entire being it’s much better, he has my genes.

-Dios nos asista entonces.

-Don’t be like that Alma.

-Can we please focus a bit? We have so much to do and you are just chatting here. Where’s the foam? Julieta, have you seen it? - like a chicken without a head Pepa moved from one side of the kitchen to the other one lifting up boxes, opening drawers and cupboards with Camilo’s eyes glued to her form with raised eyebrows.

-What foam Pepa?

-Oh, you know! The thing that goes sufts or whatever and leaves a lovely whipped cream sort of thing in your hand that you can’t eat. I used it for Dolores' hair when she was little all the time. The foam! Do I have to spell it?

-Why do you always get so… bitchy when stressed? - she whispered the “naughty” word to make sure Antonio didn't hear it coming from an adult and think it was okay for him to repeat it, but whenever something wasn't going to plan or when people expected her to give more than she could Pepa would become this huge bitch that no one could stand or control. -The foam you are looking for is right behind you; it's a bright red can, you can't miss it and yet you did.

-I really hate you sometimes Julieta.

-Don't lie, you love me. I've saved yours and Bruno's asses more times that I can count. Which reminds me, did anyone go with him to get a new pair of shoes and a new ruana?

-New ruana? I made it very clear that he is to wear a suit, just like Agustín's. Who said he can go to my wedding in a ruana?

-He told us you had allowed him to, mami. -The last hairpin was placed on the table next to someone's hairbrush, greyish brown locks of wavy hair cascading down the back of the chair.

-I didn't say such thing. Where is he?

-Ey, sientate! - Alma pushed herself into a standing position to only be pushed back into her chair by the redhead’s hands, the can of curling foam landing on the table with a metallic click rolling onto the edge of it; it was grabbed by one of Isa’s vines before it reached the floor. - Ya le buscaremos luego and if he has to wear one of Agustin's suits or even one of Felix’s and go around grabbing his pants and pulling them up so he won't step on them, he will, I'll make sure of it but right now we have to work on you or we won't get to the wedding! Camilo don’t touch that curling iron or it’ll be the last thing you do!

The boy quickly walked backwards away from it until he was able to hide behind Mirabel, whispering something only her and Dolores heard, earning a playful chuckle from his sister as she applied various shades of lipstick on her lips to try and find a perfect match. She had got over Mariano’s betrayal partially, some part of her still felt something for him but the other half had been perfectly aware of the entire situation and understood that he had never been meant to be hers, if her tio’s words back on the day of the argument were true about his vision. She might have never got her heart broken if things had worked out differently, but would she have been happy knowing all along she was always going to be the other woman in his heart even if she wore his ring and bore his children? In a small little way she was glad this whole thing had happened and that the truth and love had finally won at the end of the day, besides people dress nicely for weddings and who know her perfect someone might be waiting for her in one of the church benches. Next to her Mirabel sat in front of a mirror she had managed to steal from Isa’s bag brushing and styling her soft curls with her thin fingers working on each strand slowly but her hair wasn’t as curly as Luisa’s and as much as she tried it ended up looking like it always did, nothing special like Isabela’s colourful strands or Antonio’s absolute perfectly tight curls. Seeing the way her face fell after inspecting herself in the mirror her twin came to the rescue taking a few strands and braiding each lock softly before pulling them back to pin them with a butterfly clip at the back of her head. The reflection she met on the surface of the mirror that time was someone she liked, very much, with her big green glasses framing her brown eyes and her hair pulled back so that her face was free with only a couple random little curls still falling bouncily on her forehead; she looked beautiful, just unique like everyone in this world and she liked how pretty she looked and how powerful it made her feel, like she could conquer anything. She was smart, of course, but every once in a while it wouldn’t kill if she put on some makeup or if she wore her hair in a different style, it was part of her journey of becoming her true self.

Back to the chair where Alma was sitting Julieta kept on working incessantly on her mother’s updo, brushing, twisting and pinning strand after strand of hair on the lower back of her head, spraying and intoxicating everyone around them with the hairspray Rosa wouldn’t stop handing her, making sure to shake the excess product off with a smaller brush to also help keep some random baby hairs were they were meant to be, Pepa curling two short front locks with the curling iron. At first they didn’t come out as loose as she had wanted them, her mother looked either like George Washington or like a grandma version of Goldilocks, but after the second try they managed to bounce nicely framing her face in a much more old Hollywood sort of look. Isabela had already finished both her own hair and makeup, with several Bellflowers and Morning Glories popping randomly from in between her hair, topping it all with a lovely orange Daylily that she had clipped to the side of her head to keep those long side fringe strands out of her face, soft tones of a pinkish eyeshadow making her dark eyes stand out as well as the purplish nude colour she had chosen for her lips. With a wave of her hand a big bright red hibiscus flower appeared on the table, the girls eyes pointing at it while looking at Dolores, who understood that as soon as she was done with her hair her cousin wanted her to clip the flower on her beautiful tight curls; she was forgoing her usual red bow to go for a more natural look, a small accessory wouldn’t hurt. As the she carried on with what she was doing Isabela walked over to her mother and abuela inspecting the hairdo for a few minutes before a bright smile was displayed on her features, a string of white daisies serving as a diadem right above the bun Julieta had perfectly nailed without any help. As much as Isa wanted to cover her abuela in beautiful flowers she knew that less sometimes meant more and back when she had placed all those gorgeous flowers in Alma’s braid during their sleepover she had been just so happy and excited she hadn’t noticed it was all a bit too crowded, today it wasn’t required, her abuela needed to look beautiful and she would make sure of it.

Like a chef who uses her sharpest knife to slice through onions and carrots effortlessly her eldest nietas worked as if they were professionals, ensuring that every single product they used on their abuela’s skin felt light and hydrating, fingers moisturising her face as a prep for the makeup. Alma had flawless skin with very few wrinkles and only a couple of spots that in their opinion didn’t need to be covered so Dolores pushed away the entire box of foundations her cousin had and pulled out the hundreds of eyeshadow palettes out of Isa’s case and Camilo’s, a rather tall tower of eye makeup forming on the kitchen table as she kept on pulling them out in an never ending procession of expensive makeup. After a few minutes the last palette was placed on top of the tower as Isabela examined her abuela’s face and studied her complexion and tones to choose the colours that she thought would look best on her. Pepa in all of this had been coaxed to sit down so Rosa could do her braid, Julieta finishing Antonio’s hair by twisting the very few curls that were left with the handle of his brush, doing the bouncy test before she tapped him on the butt and he rushed to sit on a chair with his jaguar pet. The kitchen was big but not big enough for ten people, furniture and a jaguar but no one had the heart to tell the animal he had to go, it kept the little boy occupied and out of harm's way, unlike Camilo. If Pepa didn’t know better she would suspect that Agustín might be his father and not Felix, she could swear on all of heaven above that her eldest boy had a knack for injuring himself in the most absurd ways and of course since Juli’s husband was not to be seen inside Casita today somebody else had to fill his shoes; Camilo’s hand landed right on the curling iron just mere seconds after his mother had placed it on the table, a howling screaming tearing its way out of his throat. Everyone stood still as his tía rushed to him to check on his injury, pulling him towards the sink and placing his burned hand under the water before she practically parkoured her way to the pantry to grab one of Gus’ emergency arepas.

She shoved it into his mouth before turning the tap off watching in relief as his skin returned to its natural pale tone and the frown of pain vanished into thin air. The next second he was getting lectured by Pepa on how to act around hot objects as if he were five years old but both her arms were around him to make sure he was fine and no longer in pain which made it more difficult for Rosa to finish her hair and for Camilo not to get his freshly styled curls crushed by the strength of his mother. Dolores and Isa’s eyes switched from the boy’s form back to their abuela’s who was staring intensely at her nieto two seconds away from standing up, her body on the edge of the chair; it wasn’t until both girls whispered that he was fine, complaining that Pepa was choking him that she visibly relaxed and sat back properly on her chair, but her eyes never stopped glancing back at him for the remainder of the time they spent inside the kitchen. Alma’s eyes closed for several minutes as Isabela worked on them, soft strokes with the brush leaving the rose gold pigment on her olive skin, a small thin line extending the lines of her eyes to give them a more almond shape with Dolore’s eye liner, aiming for a soft, natural look unlike Isabela’s almost scandalous sharp eyes, mascara giving some more volume to Alma’s usual full eyelashes. The practice both girls had on putting makeup on each other helped immensely at using only maybe ten or fifteen minutes to finish their abuela’s look, finishing their masterpiece with a soft mix of a purplish and peach blush giving some colour to her cheeks and a lovely pale red lipstick. Looking in the mirror they handed to her, Alma couldn’t remember when it had been the last time she had looked as beautiful as she did today, her natural glow shining through this magnificent look making bubbles rise in her chest like a child who sees their favourite toy under the tree at Christmas.

-Good job Lola, un placer trabajar contigo.

-Likewise Isa. Nailed it. What do you think, abuela?

-I don’t have words, girls. You should do this for a living, I’ve never looked so pretty in my life.

-Nonsense abuelita, you’ve always been beautiful and it helps working on something that we don’t have to change at all, not a single inch. Why did you think you have such a gorgeous nieta as me? Because I inherited from you.

-There’s the humble Isabela, who doesn’t need anyone to tell her that she’s pretty or smart, she says to herself.

-I have confidence Lola, why shouldn’t I say what we all think: I’m the prettiest Madrigal, after abuela of course.

-What about me? Am I not the prettiest and cutest? Mamá says it.

-Of course you are Toñito. - Rosa finally tied the orange bow to the end of Pepa’s braid, sitting on a chair Casita had brought for her tired body after having fought with the hyperactive woman. The redhead tried to throw a glare at Isa but upon seeing her hair and makeup she just couldn’t deny that the girl was beautiful but she wouldn't go as far as saying that she was the prettiest in the family, the only person she would call ugly would be Bruno and only because of his messy hair and the fact that he carried rats everywhere and she did mean everywhere. - My little boy is the most handsome boy in the entire world, right Isa?

-Yes, of course he is. I’m the prettiest girl, and there’s Camilo who comes from another planet.

-Isabela, please, don’t start an argument with your cousin today, we still have a lot of things to do and your abuela isn’t even dressed yet. Come and help me with the back rollers, I think I have knots and they are stuck.

Free from the furious activity of getting her ready, Alma took the opportunity to leave the kitchen and head to the courtyard, the only empty and relatively cold place in the entire house hearing in the background how Isabel was complaining about her mother’s hair and Pepa was practically yelling at Camilo to stay still so she could inspect his curls which he was refusing with the excuse that she was going to crush them and they would go all limp on him. She loved her family, they were her everything but that didn’t mean that she didn’t like to spend some time away much more so when they were as anxious and stressed as they were today and the one getting married was her! Her dress hung from the dining room wall in a transparent bag looking back at her as she eyed it from her spot, the boxes of her underwear, shoes and jewellery on top of the dinning table in their pristine cases away from dirty hands. In the back of her head she knew that she should be grateful Rosa was lending her her own wedding necklace but part of her felt that leaving her locket in a drawer on such a special occasion as it was today she was betraying herself and her previous marriage so after glancing at the kitchen to see that everyone had their backs to her she rushed upstairs and into her room, closing her door in the quietest way possible. Just as she was making her way towards her nightstand a loud noise came from the back wall, as if bricks were moving or falling and the walls were ripping and for an instant she wondered if the cracks were coming back even after the fact that as soon as Mariano returned to her life they had all vanished out of the blue as if they had never ever been there in the first place, but upon turning around she found a window facing her right next to her small reading area with a tiny bookshelf, a comfy armchair and a little wooden table, a brand new set of white curtains flowing in the breeze coming from the open window.

It took her several seconds to register a voice calling for her from the back garden, her feet heading its way to see down by the yellowish grass Mariano in a beautiful white guayabera with two patterned thick lines on the front. From this distance she couldn’t make out what the symbols were but if she were down there beside him she would be able to see that they were made out tiny little butterflies and waves representing the lake up in their little spot; he was also wearing pale yellow or brown pants and a pair of very light moccasins, his hair slicked back and onto one side letting his waves roam free and his fuller beard perfectly trimmed with not a single hair out of place. He was the most handsome man she had seen in her life, deceased people excluded of course, and she found herself staring at him with lovestruck eyes not hearing a single word he was saying, until Bruno made himself present by coming out of some bushes in a green linen suit and a pair of pale green open moccasins carrying a guitar which he handed to Mariano while giving him the thumbs up, returning to his bush to give them some privacy. The first strings of the guitar started playing and soon the sound of the birds chirping and the song of the cicadas was nothing but an almost nonexistent background noise as the man’s voice filled her soul making her ears only able to listen to him.

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

His eyes gleamed in the sunlight like melted chocolate, as sweet as candy and as dark as the deepest part of the ocean, a pool of the most wonderful and tasteful candy that even from a distance she could taste on the tip of her tongue, her heart beautiful at the tempo of the serenata.

De la sierra, morena

Cielito lindo, vienen bajando

Un par de ojitos negros, cielito lindo

De contrabando

De la sierra, morena

Cielito lindo, vienen bajando

Un par de ojitos negros, cielito lindo

De contrabando

She was falling, slowly and at the same time at the speed of light into his soul as the words felt out of his lips, peach coloured and as soft as the petals of a rose, so delicate to the touch of her fingers and yet so far away from her reach the music filling the silence of her room like a transparent elixir of life freezing her on the spot.

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

Ese lunar que tienes

Cielito lindo, junto a los ojos

No se lo des a nadie, cielito lindo

Que es para mi gozo

Her fingers instinctively reached out to touch her own face, smiling as broad as her muscles would provide as he changed the lyrics of the song to fit her and only her. It wasn’t anything gloriously exciting or a change so big that made him feel like he was singing her a completely different song, it was a small little touchup that made it unique as his heart sang it just for her, each single word pouring out love from every pore and crevasse the invisible poem.

Ese lunar que tienes

Cielito lindo, junto a los ojos

No se lo des a nadie, cielito lindo

Que es para mi gozo

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

She couldn't believe that even after fifty years she had a man under her brand new window serenading her in private without anyone but her son hiding in the bushes. She hadn't expected Mariano to remember this tradition, no one in the village usually did, maybe Agustín had back when he had been courting Julieta but that was practically it; Pepa had never been very found of listening of it so it wasn’t strange to find that when Felix had tried she had thrown a shoe at him forbidding him from opening his mouth, explaining to him in her own way that if he wanted to sing they would do it together and have as much as they could along with it, but it was a lovely touch that her soon to be husband hadn’t completely erased such a simple and romantic action from the events of the day and was now throwing kisses up at her while two bony hands picked up the guitar and practically flew out of the back garden as if he didn't want to get caught or be seen. Maybe Bruno was hiding from his sisters so they would leave him alone, if that was the case she couldn't blame her son in the slightest. Her hand travelled to the back of her hair and took one of the white daisies, quickly taking a pin out of a drawer after half screaming, half whispering at him to stay right where he was, throwing the flower from her window. It swayed in the air softly from side to side landing perfectly on the palms of his hands, quickly pinning it to the front of his guayabera before looking up at her.

From where he was standing his view of her rosy skin and cherry lips intoxicated his lungs and he wasn’t even close enough to smell her perfume. She would be his end, her mere existence on this planet was wonderful enough for him to carry on living, but seeing her as beautiful as she looked today and mere hours away from becoming his legal wife was making his heart explode inside his chest. Noises in between the leaves of the forest cut this beautiful moment short and after she threw a kiss at him and he returned the gesture he was running back to his house and Alma quickly grabbed the locket from her drawer and rushed back downstairs. Now she was ready to get married. When she entered the kitchen everyone was practically dressed which made her wonder just how much time she had spent upstairs but her daughter’s didn’t give her any opportunity to check the clock, Alma was being pushed towards the dining room asking Camilo and Antonio to head down to Mariano’s place to see if they were ready and to get a head start to the church. She was stripped from her dress and handed her underwear which she quickly put in the bathroom to later suffer the pain of getting the corset on and settled before Pepa and Juli pulled and tied the strings. She was old, that was a fact but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look beautiful. There were no mirrors with which she could check herself in not that she needed to, the instant she heard the zip of the bag come undone behind her her questions and doubts about whether she had done the right thing by letting her nieta and her son in law make her a “modern” dress dissipated. The satin fabric swished over the tiles as her daughters and granddaughters quickly undid the buttons and placed it at floor length in front of her, waiting for Alma to step into it; she hesitated for a minute before Mirabel took the liberty of holding her hands and began to pull her softly towards her, Alma’s feet moving freely and into the dress.

Feeling the cool fabric around her body she smoothed the garment with her hands, her fingertips following the lines of the embroidered flowers on the bodice, the bishop sleeves made out white transparent chiffon finishing right about the middle of her forearms matching the same fabric around her neck and upper chest; the transparent turtleneck blended into a low portrait collar marking the beginning of the bodice. The rest of the dress was made out of pale cream colour satin, tight fitting, the main reason why today she was wearing a corset and not her usual less constricting underwear, beautiful little pearls and white tulips and carnations embroidered around her waist and hips, the flowy A-line skirt falling around her legs in a simple clean piece of fabric that ended just at floor length, a slight trail on the back of the garment of about maybe a feet or two with golden butterflies and real undying daisies sawn onto the fabric by expert hands that held the delicate touch of tailor and the love of a granddaughter. Not a single stitch was out of place and the dress felt both light and cool in the summer heat. Reflected, in a slightly blurry manner, over the tiles on the walls she saw a young brunette girl staring back at her with the same happy childish smile her older self had, lovestruck eyes full of hope and dreams locking with her much wiser ones; she realised on that spot as Dolores handed her mother the pink box with the garter and the linen stockings, that she would have to give up a little on that past life that she had been holding on to for fifty years, but not in a metaphorical sense of speaking; it was in a physical one, meaning that as she looked down at her hands, eyes landing on one finger in specific, she would have to take her ring off. The panic quickly settled in and at the prospect of letting go of such an important momentum of her life her knees started to buckle under her weight. As quickly as they could, Julieta's hand’s shot up to prevent her mother from falling flat on the floor, Casita sending a chair their way.

-Mamá, are you alright?

-Is it your blood pressure? - the brunette carefully guided her mother to the seat feeling how Alma’s muscles were tensing and trembling under her palms, her chest rising and falling at such speed Juli feared she might start hyperventilating. Of course her sister’s comments didn’t quite help ease her worry. - The heart? Have you drank and eaten anything today?

-Pepi, please, let her speak. Dolores, cielo, ¿puedes hacerle un té a tu madre a ver si se calma de una vez?

-Of course, come on mami, let’s get you some delicious lavender tea.

-But… Ugh, de verdad, sois imposibles. Go ahead, don’t listen to me but if mamá collapses at the altar don’t come crying to me! - she stormed out of the dining room with a growing cloud hovering over her head, small quiet thunders and lightning forming in between the fluffy clouds with an extremely calm Dolores following her into the kitchen.

-Mamá, what’s wrong? Cold feet? It’s very normal, I don’t I know of anyone who didn’t start asking themselves if they are doing the right thing by getting married, you don’t need to-

-It’s not that - Alma worked on her own at controlling her breathing, her heart rate slowing down after a few minutes. - It’s quite childish really. It didn’t occur to me until now that I need a free finger for my new ring and that means… taking off your father’s and I don’t think I can do that.

-Oh, mamá.

-I know I shouldn’t make a great deal out of it but… I can’t help it. It’s one of the very few things I have to remember him by and suddenly I’m expected to push it aside and I really do not think that I have the strength to take it off and just keep it in a drawer or my jewellery box. It’s meant so much to me for such a long time…

-Have you talked about this with Mariano?

-How could I, if I didn’t realise it until now?

-Hold on, I have an idea. Mamá, undo the first few buttons of abuela’s dress, I’ll be right back. - there was no hint, not even one word of what the girl had thought of, but her feet shot towards the staircase running to her room and back in under five minutes, a single piece of white thread in her hands. - Can I take it off for you, abuela? I promise I won’t let it fall or lose it. - a single nod was sufficient answer for Mirabel as she carefully pulled the golden band off her abuela’s finger letting it get wrapped on the thread she had brought before her hands wrapped it around Alma’s neck, under the translucent fabric, tying it at the back. It felt oddly strange not to have it on her finger after such a long time, she felt naked somehow but at the same time having it close to her heart seemed to her like it was its rightful place. With the dress buttoned up once more her fingers travelled to feel the cold metal band over the skin of her chest. - I promise I’ll get you a better chain for it but for the time being it should be more than enough. What do you think?

-Don’t rush it Mirabel, cariño. I quite like it this way, a little detail from your abuelo adjusted by her granddaughter, it’s quite fitting don’t you think?

-Si, creo que si but I will get you a better chain so you can wear it always. There is no reason why you shouldn't keep it close, abuelo is very important to all of us just as much as he is to you, Mariano will understand.

Mirabel was such a smart and kind girl, she could read everyone around her like a book and she had the wonderful ability to always know what people needed and wanted almost all the time without missing a beat. Being her abuela only enhanced this gift her Mira seemed to possess, helping and guiding the older woman through the treacherous paths of the modern world and on how to adapt her old life to the new one. Her hands caressed the girls cheeks for a moment before Pepa returned to the room with a steaming cup of tea and a sour face, Dolores following in her usual calm demeanour but in her eyes a thin veil of exasperation was beginning to form, her mother’s moods affecting her at last. Luisa handed the pink box to his abuela who quickly took it and opened it to free the delicate lavender blue garter after she had put the stockings on, stretching the garment softly in her hands before slipping it on her left leg. There really wasn’t much need for it, not with this new sort of tights and socks, but it added some spice to the activities planned for later and she most certainly wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying every single inch of her. The only thing left was the shoes that rested inside their white box on the kitchen table. It had been a nightmare trying to find a nice pair that wouldn’t be too ordinary or too luxurious for her feet, practicality was the main factor playing this time instead of prettiness, but like every moment of her life magic seemed to have her back and two weeks ago in the store in town a gorgeous pair of block heels of just a few inches with closed toes in an absolutely stunning tone of pearl white with two small bows on the front showed up. It had been like love at first sight, such beautiful shoes couldn’t have just been on that window out of luck, the world had smiled at her that day and without even thinking they had bought them. Isabela handed Alma the box helping her abuela to unwrap them and place them on the floor right next to her feet but just as the girl was about to raise the skirt her own mother asked her to stop, telling her that she had to go get something from her purse. As far as they knew there was no need for Alma to wear anything else on her legs and she wasn’t going to put any gloves on so it came as a surprise when Julieta had come back with her coin pouch instead of some forgotten garment. It clicked on their brains as she handed a single coin of fifty pesos to Alma that no one had remembered to leave some money out for her to wear on her shoe, another tradition but this one was indeed followed by everyone in the village; after placing los pesos inside the brand new pair of shoes Isabela tied the strings around Alma’s ankles until they were secure enough, the older woman shaking her feet a bit to test them.

The hours were passing as fast as possible and at the same time it all seemed to have frozen, everything around her walking past her in slow motion, words and noises dragging out for ages as she finally stood up to let Julieta clip her own veil on her mother’s hair, the something old, something new and something blue checked out of the list. From the kitchen table she could see herself in one of the mirrors that had been left laying around, finally meeting her reflection. She was looking at herself but she seemed to be facing a stranger wearing a wedding dress, the only recognizable thing being her eyes; time had been kind to her, that much was undeniable but age had modified her body in the strangest ways to a point that she could hardly believe this was her, she had grown accustomed to seeing herself as an old widow that it had never even crossed her mind that one day she would be standing in her own home dressed like this with no longer brunette braids but greish locks of thin hair, tired and wrinkled skin that showed just how long it had been, her once girlish eyes transforming into those of a woman who had lived and suffered too much. It really was strange just how different the circumstances were and yet how completely normal and similar it all felt to that first time. The lace of the veil rested on top of her shoulders swimming down her back up to her hips, Pepa’s cold breeze returning to the house as the redhead sipped on her cup of tea, the previous dark clouds dissipating. Then the church bells struck six, telling everyone that the feared yet expected time had finally arrived; her daughter’s were the first ones to get a move on, telling the girls to start heading to the door, leaving Juli and Pepa alone with Alma and Rosa, the latter handing out her jewellery box to her best friend, waiting for her to open it.

She had seen the necklace before, she was no stranger to such beauty but it never ceased to amaze her, the perfect white gold shimmering under the sunlight that came through the windows, sparkling diamonds scattered along the chain as Rosa took it gently from her hands and clipped it around her neck, the weight of the piece falling perfectly over her collar bone without hiding the ring. The something borrowed had finally finished the look, Alma’s heart thanking heaven above that it was over, hammering against her ribs and corset, but a soft ringing in her ears kept on telling her that something was missing, that she was forgetting something but couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Just as Pepa returned to the kitchen to leave her cup in the sink and Julieta and Rosa headed for the courtyard her feet started moving towards the door, that was until her eyes landed on the locket as she glance back at the table, where it laid half hidden, accidentally, underneath one of the boxes and without thinking her hands shooting to grab it, her arms slamming over the wooden surface in her hurry to get it. She had nowhere to keep it and she couldn’t wear it, it was slightly chipped and it had lost its shine but she was not going to leave him behind, he had accompanied her every single day of her life and it just didn’t feel right to have him forgotten underneath a box or inside a drawer to catch dust as the bubble of guilt grew and grew inside Alma’s chest. Without knowing what she was doing she wrapped the chain around her wrist until she was sure it wouldn’t fall off her arm and left the room to join the rest of her family.

There by the front door was Bruno with his messy curls brushed into a ponytail and his usual ruana ditched for the day in exchange for a dark green suit made out of linen, the sleeves rolled up all the way to his elbows, his horrid sandals laying on the mountains of sand in his room since his feet were covered by a pair of pale green open moccasins, just as she had seen him when Mariano had come to serenade her. He winked at his mother but it came out more as if he was about to sneeze, his other eye squinting a little but she understood, a soft smile plastered on her face as she walked towards him. Both his sisters were too busy making sure the girls looked perfect that they simply nodded at Bruno to acknowledge his presence before they returned to mother mode smoothing dresses and returning random strands of her to their rightful place. Underneath Rosa’s arm was the box where Alma’s mantilla was kept, safe until they got to the church. The sun was still pretty high up in the sky but the way it hit the ground underneath was less scorching than it had been around lunch time, the fresh smell of flowers and ready to be picked fruit mixing with that of the warmth that levitated in the air. The bells of the church sang the upcoming celebration with giddy notes that echoed in between the mountains, the procession of the Madrigal’s walking down the path, over the bridge and into town, the strong perfume of Isabela’s flowers filling up their chests. Bruno had asked his mother to walk with him by giving her his arm, not a word breaking the comfortable silence of their stroll, but behind them the rest of the troops laughed, joked and scandalously talked, excitement palpable in the air, Julieta, Pepa and Rosa chatting calmly at the end of the group.

-You sneaked Mariano out of his house, didn’t you?

-Maybe, but he did sing to you so…

-I wasn’t going to scold you. I’m rather thankful, Brunito, honestly, and it makes me very happy that you haven’t brought any rats to my wedding.

-Oh, but I have, Agustín made me some ratpockets on the jacket so Cecilia and Robeto could watch the ceremony.

With the smile of a child who had just been given some candy he opened his jacket enough for her to see two rats poking out from a rather big pocket in the inner part of the garment. And as angry as she wanted to be with him, the only thing she managed was a soft chuckle along with a short shaking of her head. He would always be a little boy in her eyes and it kind of saddened her to know that she had missed so much time; she had almost forgotten just how much he liked to have some Cholado in the summer months or the sound of his knuckles on the wooden surface of tables and the bannister when he retired for the night. Small little things that she hadn’t realised were part of her just as much as they were his. The concert of heels on the pavement echoed against the decorated walls of the buildings, houses closed as well as shops since everyone in town would be in church by now, their steps light and quick. The tower of the church came into view from in between the houses, the bells clunking over their heads as they got closer and closer and just as they rounded the corner the temple came into view standing high and proud, front doors fully closed except for the small gateways that allowed the very few people that were still entering the building. The wedding jitters were beginning to take hold of Alma’s body, knees trembling and hands sweating a bit, her breathing coming in long huffs to make sure she didn’t go into a full panic attack. He was at the other side waiting for her and for some reason she wanted to either run away or jump into his arms, unsure of which to do but her feet were glued to the floor and her legs felt like lead, impossible to move so either way she wouldn't have been able to do neither of them. She had dissociated for just a few minutes so when the sight of the church vanished under the white fabric of her lace mantilla, the garment brushing against her cheeks and nose, her hands clutched Bruno’s arm out of surprise and anxiety, her heart skipping a beat. She could still see through the holes in the embroidery but it didn’t stop her heart from hammering against her ribs now that she was mere minutes away from stepping inside the church.

Small little Bells of Ireland wrapped in between the fabric of the mantilla now that it was secured to Alma’s head, Isa’s job almost done; just before she headed inside with her family she quickly created out of thin air the most beautiful bouquet of flowers; laced inside the white bow that tied the stems all together soft pink Peonies mixed with white Gardenias, strong purple Lilacs giving that bit of colour along with bright yellow Chamomiles and blue Poppies that it need, between green leaves and stems that gave depth and a rich aura to the whole thing. The girl rushed to give her a peck on the cheek before she practically flew inside the building, Luisa flashing her a smile before following, Dolores and Mirabel squeezing her forearms to later disappear through the doors. There really wasn't much time left, the clock ticking in slow motion around her, the bells booming inside her head but she stood her ground. Rosa whispered a soft good luck in her ear; the next instant she was gone leaving her standing there with her children. She thought she had been done with this sort of thing after Pepa’s wedding, that once her grandchildren began to settle down she would be just a feature in their brand new lives, and a very happy one at that, but it saddened her that as much as she had dreamed of walking down the aisle once more it was not her place to do so anymore. She had watched with tears in her eyes when both her daughters had reached the altar in their beautiful white dresses, Bruno clinging to her as if he was afraid she would shove him towards any single woman out there but she wouldn’t have done that, as much as she had expected him to finally settle down, as the years went by she realised that was not the life for him and surprisingly she was okay with it. Being in front of the church today being the one about to get married was terrifying but it brought a rush of joy to know that her family was there, all of them, supportive and ready to watch her take the next step.

Julieta’s eyes were gleaming with tears and as if she hadn’t thought of this before she felt as if she was looking at her father smile through her dark pools of kindness and understanding, seeing her sister jumping in absolute delight through the green fields of nature that laid behind Pepa’s eyes, Bruno’s fingers pressing on her arm softly as she came face to face with him. Everyone was here today, her ears picking up as the bells stopped, the gentle sound of flowing water, the ripples on the surface reflecting its patterns on the walls of the church embracing her into a pair of invisible arms. Her daughters kissed her before walking inside meeting Felix as he came out with little Antonio. The boy would be the one to carry the rings up to the altar, so he was supposed to be the first one to enter the church, Felix heading towards them ready to walk Alma down the aisle, but Bruno didn’t let go of her arm; he seemed determined to tell him something although the words were getting stuck in his throat. It wasn’t until the broad man placed one of his hands on Bruno’s shoulder that he finally let the words fall off his lips in a rather hurried and a bit stumbly way. If she hadn’t been there hearing him she wouldn’t have believed it, her son, her little boy had asked Felix if for once they could change the traditions and let him instead of the Godfather walk her up to the altar, and like the good sport he was, Felix hadn’t even tried to explain to him all that bullshit Alma had heard throughout the years that they had to follow and honour the traditions and such, no, he had smiled as bright as the sun and simply had told him not to get his feet caught in her dress and to keep his back straight to make himself look taller. The tension visibly left his body, shoulders relaxing beside her, eyes following Felix’s form as he talked with Antonio, gave him the cushion with the sewn in rings and left, giving them all a thumbs up before Pepa’s hands grabbed his collar and pulled him inside.

At last the time had arrived and as the doors opened to let in Antonio she could have sworn she was two seconds away from fainting but her legs didn’t betray her and her feet took a step forward, and then another until she was maybe a foot or so from the tiled floors of the church. From the ceiling soft white petals fell over the aisle in a gentle rain getting caught in between the boy’s curls as he proudly headed for the altar, the cushion tightly in his hands. In the first benches fluffy clouds had formed, but a bright yellow umbrella protected those underneath from the shower that fell from them, probably Pepa and Julieta. The organ began to play the first notes of the bridal march and without even having to force herself to move, her feet accompanied Bruno’s in short calm steps down the central corridor, her eyes observing everyone through her mantilla until they landed on the figure of her beloved that as she walked got closer and closer. Bruno was practically beaming as he escorted her, holding onto her arm a bit as if she was the one guiding him and not the other way around, but no one cared, it looked right to have him accompany his own mother down the aisle until they reached the altar, passing the bouquet to Dolores as Alma took Marinao’s hands and walked up the mini stairs. The warmth of his palms against hers calmed her speeding heart as he guided her towards the priest, his fingers travelling up to her mantilla to lift it gently off her face, revealing her to the world but mainly his own two eyes where tears had gathered at the sight of his bride. Dolores came to the rescue picking up the garment from his hands since she feared it might fall to the ground without him even realising; finally everyone was in place.

Whatever father Flores was speaking came through one ear and out the other, she just couldn’t take her eyes off of Mariano. Not only he had made himself even more handsome but the air that surrounded him had changed completely and it drew her in like metal to a magnet, his aftershave sweet perfume that intoxicated and drugged her into this euphoric state of love and romance that she wasn’t battling at all. His eyes had locked with hers the instant the mantilla had been lifted and from then on they had been lost inside each other’s souls oblivious to the world around them. A bomb could have gone off right beside them that they wouldn’t have noticed. He felt his knees go weak every time she blinked or when her cherry lips turned up a bit, a smile just for him, sending soft electric shocks through his arms, because now that he had her right in front of him he just could let go, although that static might come from Pepa since she was practically all over the place. Around the couple time stood still, no one or nothing moved, no sounds disturbed them as if the world had stopped turning but they couldn’t care less, they were taking the last step, through thick and thin they had managed to stay together, forgiving each other’s mistakes and learning how to move forward, together, not listening to the voices that told them this wasn’t meant to be; they had built something they couldn’t break down, and they would continue to do so until their bodies drew in their last breath. The spell was broken when the priest announced the next few texts were going to be read by some members of this church. Mirabel stood up and headed for the pulpit, coughing softly before she looked down at the book claiming the text was from the book of Rut, her word echoing against the perfect walls of the church, the wooden carvings of the Virgin Mary and Jesus almost listening as intensely as her abuela was.

Rut respondió:

“No insistas en que te abandone y me separe de ti,

porque donde tu vayas, yo iré,

donde habites, habitaré.

Tu pueblo será mi pueblo

Y tu Dios será mi Dios.

Donde tú mueras moriré

Y allí seré enterrada.

Que Yahveh me dé este mal

y añada a este otro todavía

Si no es tan solo la muerte

Lo que nos ha de separar”

Palabra de Dios.

To her surprise Luisa stood up and took Mirabel’s place, quickly flipping the pages to find her text before people started to talk and their focus shifted to something else. Smoothing the page with her hands, her booming voice reverberated all over the building and explained that what she was going to read belonged to the first letter from the apostle Saint Pablo to the Corinthians.

El amor es sufrido, es benigno;

el amor no tiene envidia;

el amor no es jactancioso, no se envanece,

no hace nada indebido, no busca lo suyo,

no se irrita, no guarda rencor;

no se goza de la injusticia,

sino que se goza de la verdad.

Todo lo sufre, todo lo cree,

todo lo espera, todo lo soporta.

El amor disculpa sin límites,

cree sin límites, espera sin límites,

aguanta sin límites.

El amor no pasa nunca.

Palabra de Dios

The texts hadn’t been chosen by the priest, they were too specific for him to have randomly selected them, her granddaughters must have talked with him so they could read them, not that Alma would ever complain, the words were like balms to the part of her heart that still held onto Pedro as if it were the only thing that kept it beating, a single tear sliding down her cheek in silence as the girl returned to her seat in between her sisters. Mariano’s hand quickly travelled to her face, whipping the droplet with his thumb, but he wasn’t worried about her, the bright smile that she was giving him could have easily been the only oxygen he would have ever needed to survive. Soon enough, Father Flores began the most important part of the ceremony, the one that everyone wants to see, both because it means the wedding will end soon and they can eat and because it's the next step to finally be done with all this and be considered officially married. He asked them to stand up from their stools, neither of them ever breaking hand contact to look at the priest, ready and wishing it all was over already.

-Alma Madrigal y Mariano Guzmán, ¿vienen a contraer matrimonio sin ser forzados, libres y de manera voluntaria?

-Si, venimos libremente.

- ¿ Están decididos a respetarse y amarse siguiendo la vida del propio matrimonio, durante el resto de su vida?

- Sí, estamos decididos.

-¿Están dispuestos a recibir de Dios responsable y amorosamente los hijos, y a educarlos según la ley de Cristo y de su Iglesia? - a couple of chuckles were heard from in between the guests, a tight smile gracing Alma’s lips as she swallowed the lump that had formed on her throat.

-Sí, estamos dispuestos.

-Unan sus manos y manifiesten su consentimiento ante Dios y ante la Iglesia. - Mariano was the first one to speak, dropping his left hand to his side to leave just their right ones in front of father Flores. - Mariano Guzmán, ¿quieres recibir a Alma Madrigal, como esposa, y prometes serle fiel en la prosperidad y en la adversidad, en la salud y en la enfermedad, y así, amarla y respetarla todos los días de tu vida?

-Si, quiero

-Alma Madrigal, ¿quieres recibir a Mariano Guzmán, como esposo, y prometes serle fiel en la prosperidad y en la adversidad, en la salud y en la enfermedad, y así, amarlo y respetarlo todos los días de tu vida?

-Si, quiero

-Lo que Dios ha unido, que no lo separe el hombre - the breath he didn’t know he had been holding released the instant she said those words, one step closer to being hers forever and ever, feeling like all the traditions and things they had to do were keeping him from her more than helping him get her in all full honesty and commitment. Felix handed the priest a little silver tray where the rings were, free from the cushion where Antonio had carried them. - El Señor bendiga estos anillos que van a entregarse uno al otro en señal de su amor y fidelidad.

-Alma Madrigal, recibe este anillo, en señal de mi amor y fidelidad hacia ti. En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. - he slipped the golden band on her finger effortlessly, the metal of the ring contrasting with the warmth of her body. It was strange, of course, she had spent fifty years wearing a ring that had been a symbol of a past life so the new one she wore now, polished and gleaming in the light of the stained glasses, fit perfectly and felt just right, not a doubt in her mind that she wasn’t making a mistake. Taking the other ring from the tray it was Alma’s turn.

-Mariano Guzmán, recibe este anillo, en señal de mi amor y fidelidad hacia ti. En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo.

In the excitement of it all Mariano almost jumped to kiss her, but Felix quickly pulled him back and whispered something in his ear, the young man’s face dropping for a minute, before with certain resignation he returned to his original posture raising his shoulders towards Alma. In all of this, Father Flores had turned his back to pick up yet another silver tray but this one contained twelve golden coins and a platinum one, holding it up in the air as if he was presenting it to the Lord and the guests before he did the sign of the cross over it.

-Bendice Señor, estas arras, que Alma y Mariano se entregan, y derrama sobre ellos la abundancia de tus bienes.

He dropped the coins in Mariano’s hands who carefully placed them on Alma’s open hands before she gave them back to him, returning them to the tray where a soft piece of lace laid over it. Of course, he had forgotten about that, they were supposed to use that for the hat of the Christening outfit of their first child, the thorn digging deeper in both their hearts, but they didn’t show it, only carried on listening to the priests words as he read several more texts, offering the bread and wine to the couple before he handed the cup and plate to a few of the monaguillos so he could bless the rest of the guests. There weren’t one or two, it was a whole town and it bothered the hell out of them both that they had to wait even more for them to finish before they could be done with this whole thing and finally be free, but fate seemed to be creating a bit of a setback for them and what they thought would be maybe ten minutes became twenty as they sat back on the stools to wait. Finally Rosa took the last sip from the cup and the priest returned to his place, handing each a candle, lighting them with a match before he stood in front of them with a third one. Carefully both tilted their own to light the new one, observing how the flame began to form until it burned on its own, each blowing their own candles before putting them aside and taking the one they had just lit, hearts hammering as the priest finally blessed them and declared them husband and wife before he bid them goodbye and a happy, healthy and long marriage. They stood there for a few minutes looking at the flame before their eyes locked, brains registering at last that it was over, that they had just got married. As much as he wanted to kiss her until the world ended he only gave her a quick peck on the cheek, promising her a better one in just a minute.

The guests rushed to the doors as the couple walked back down the aisle with the candle still burning in their hands until the sun of the evening greeted them and both blew it out once they were standing on the stairs of the church, his arms wrapping around her waist drawing her near. Lips pressed together in a gentle dance, the cheers of the people around them deafening, rice and flowers falling on their heads as she pulled him impossibly close while wrapping her arms around his neck, her feet lifted off the floor as he twirled them on the spot. SHE HAD GOT MARRIED!! If she had been a firework she would be exploding non-stop in the sky, rainbows and excited breezes enfolding them as Pepa cried and laughed in Felix’s arms, Julieta watching her mother with her head resting on Agustín’s shoulder. It had all worked out in the end, Bruno smiling softly beside Rosa, handing her a handkerchief since the poor woman seemed to be sniffling her lungs back into her body. With the grandkids screaming and heading to Casita the guests followed, Dolores not forgetting to return the bouquet back to Alma promising the newlyweds she would provide them with a few minutes of privacy, practically hoarding everyone to Casita. Alone in front of the church they just couldn’t believe what they had done, his arms never leaving her waist, while her free hand held onto the lapels of his guayabera, the few inches that had separated them vanishing as lips met once more. This was heaven, this was how living in the garden of Eden had felt to Adam and Eve, having Alma as his official wife made him feel like he was living in paradise.

When their lungs began to scream for air they were forced to break away from each other, a sudden idea popping into his head. With her hand secured in his he pulled her to the edge of town, the gates to the graveyard coming into view after maybe a five minute walk, the trees that surrounded it swaying softly in the afternoon breeze as the heat of the day dissipated somewhat and a gentle chilly air finally began to cool down the atmosphere. Her steps were unsure and maybe a bit slow, but she followed him nevertheless, Mariano pushing the gates open and guiding her to the back, where the sun bathed the statue of the angel and the marble cross. Standing in front of their graves she was unsure what to do or say, she usually felt sad and heartbroken when she came to visit but today she couldn't find those feelings anywhere, but when Mariano wrapped his arms around her waist from behind whispering in her ear that not always words were needed she saw the silver lining. Picking out some Lilacs from her bouquet she placed them on the ground in front of Pedro’s, kneeling to place a kiss of her hand before it travelled to the stone, inexplicably cold and warm under her fingers, some Peonies placed on the base of the statue, another kiss landing over the plaque. Mariano stood a couple feet away to give her some space so when she felt the brushing of some fingers on her cheek she assumed it had been him, but when her eyes landed on his form her heart skipped a beat, the translucent figures of those ghosts she had felt around her getting swallowed by the first few rays of dusk, their job done and their journey over now that hers was beginning.

#alma madrigal #abuela madrigal #encanto #dolores madrigal #julieta madrigal #pepa madrigal #bruno magridal #mariano guzman #señora guzmán #disney

3 notes · View notes

shessolovely-ao3 · 2 years

Note

Hi! I was the anon who asked for your favorite fanfics! Sorry for being awkward! A specific fandom im looking for is Encanto please. I love your Encanto fanfics so much so im just really curious on which one is your favorite!

hi! don't worry, you weren't awkward at all! i just wanted to make sure i was giving you the right recommendations! I have a few favorite fics that are in my bookmarks on my ao3 profile, here are some of my top contenders!

The Future Is A Funny Thing by TheseAreMine (i'm a sucker for platonic bruno and mirabel content. sue me)

The Nuances of Wish Granting by LoandBehold24 (also a sucker for platonic bruno and isabela content! basically bruno with all of his nieces and nephews. love to see it)

hindsight and her perfect agonies by fais_do_do (this one is so immaculately written. more focused on Agustín and his relationship with Bruno, which i always think is sweet)

The Favorite by draculard (a character study on isabela!)

la culpa caje conmigo by dismalatbest (this one is a camilo/oc one, i don't usually go for those since im more of a fan of the family dynamic in the movie, but this one was beautifully written!)

A Senseless Act by IslaKariese (a fic showcasing the origins of the Miracle!)

the weight of your reflection by lilyphase (more mirabel and bruno content, except this time it's set during mirabel's gift ceremony. the feels are real here)

and finally, the house crumbles by gin (tabanthas) (everyone likes to analyze the relationship between isabela and mirabel, but this one has got to be my favorite. it's isabela reflecting on herself as she digs through the rubble to find her sister. it's a shitty summary, i know, but school has just finished and my brain is mush and it's the best i can do to describe it!)

I know this was a lot more than just one fic like you asked for, but i couldn't help it! everyone posts more amazing stuff every day and there's definitely no shortage of content, i hope this keeps you satisfied for a while!

and tysm for the compliment on my writing! it means a lot, i'm planning on updating soon now that my semester is over! :)))

#re: dani talks about things #fanfic recommendation #encanto fic #encanto #i'm such a sucker for family fics #theyre so good #seriously thank you for the compliments #they always make my day #i always publish shit and then im like hmmmmmmm no one will read it #so it always sends me over the moon whenever someone says they liked what i wrote #or even that they read it honestly #but yea!!!#thank u!!!

1 note · View note

cheeseanonioncrisps · 2 years

Text

So, random thought… how many of the Madrigals know that Bruno left of his own free will?

'Cause I'm just thinking about the reactions of Mirabel's parents. When Mirabel talks about seeing cracks in the walls, her mother at first tries to put it off as just stress or something. And maybe she really believes that.

But then, when Mirabel starts getting too insistent that she really saw the walls start to crack and the candle go out, what does Julieta do? She brings up Bruno. The family taboo. “My brother Bruno lost his way in this family. I don't want the same for you.”

Now, this is an odd thing to bring up. Mirabel literally can't say a word about Bruno without everyone in the vicinity loudly talking about how nobody talks about him. It is a big deal that Julieta is referencing him in casual conversation like this.

And I'm convinced that the reason she does, is because she's panicking.

The one kid who she thought didn't get a gift (and who failed to get a gift the same night that Bruno mysteriously left the family) has suddenly started having visions of terrible things that haven’t happened yet. Nobody in the family seems to really know how the candle magic works— and Mirabel's case is unprecedented even in that context— so I don't think it would be that unreasonable for Julieta to wonder if there hasn't been some sort of power transference/replacement going on.

In a family where keeping up appearances is everything— and where there's no real privacy, thanks to Dolores— bringing up her brother is Julieta's way of trying to tell Mirabel “please keep quiet about it if you've suddenly developed future vision, I don't want you to end up like Bruno!”

And sure, maybe this is just because she remembers how Bruno was treated when he was around. But then, she also knows how Mirabel is being treated now. She knows how insecure she is about not having a gift, and how Abuela and the townsfolk seem to look down on her for it.

And the Madrigals have all been raised to view their gifts as tools that they are obligated to use to help the townsfolk. For Julieta to hear even a suggestion that her daughter may have a gift, and immediately shut it down like this, suggests that she thinks the consequences for revealing will be dire.

And she specifically references the fact that Bruno was 'lost', even though she has no reason whatsoever to believe that Mirabel is going to choose to leave the family.

And then there's Agustín, who hears that Bruno had a vision of the Casita collapsing and Mirabel being at the centre of it— a vision that he knows is almost certainly going to come true— and immediately insists that she hide it and not tell anyone.

Again, weird. Why would you not want your family to be informed of an oncoming catastrophe? Even if you have reason to believe that your daughter will be at the epicentre of it all, isn't that all the more reason to let your super-powered in-laws know, so they have a better chance of protecting her? And yet he's clearly way more terrified by the thought of the family finding out, than he is by the thought of Bruno's vision coming true.

His reaction doesn't really make sense in the context of "Bruno had scary visions and then chose to move out one day and cut contact because of how people treated him". Or even "Bruno saw this and it was so scary that he ran off one day".

But both Agustín and Julieta's reactions make perfect sense if they personally believe that Bruno was forced out by Abuela.

I mean, think about it from their perspective. It's the night of your daughter's gifting ceremony, and it's all gone horribly wrong. The two of your have probably spent the night in the nursery comforting a sobbing five year old. You may be able to hear (or Dolores may later tell you) that Abuela is arguing with Bruno— the creepy relative that everyone blames when Bad Things happen— about his prophecies.

And then the next day Bruno has vanished, mysteriously, and Abuela is insisting that nobody is allowed to talk about him.

I feel like you would at least wonder about what had happened, even if Abuela openly said that he left on his own (and we don't know if she even gave that much of an explanation). Especially since Bruno doesn't seem the type you'd expect to take off on a solo journey through the mountains.

And you would never get to talk about these fears, because "we don't talk about Bruno". Even in private, you'd be constantly aware of your eleven year old niece who can't help but listen in to everything you're saying. And having no outlet for these thoughts would probably only make them worse.

So, maybe you'd end up subtly encouraging your gifted children to not upset Abuela too much— make sure Isabella understands how important it is that she go along with things 'for the family', and that Luisa knows to make herself useful— and your one, not-gifted child, to try not to draw too much attention to that fact.

After all, you don't want another Bruno.

#encanto #encanto spoilers #encanto meta #i don't think abuela is aware of this btw #like from her perspective #We Don't Talk About Bruno #because bruno leaving unexpectedly probably brought back a lot of memories about losing her husband #and her specific way of dealing with that kind of trauma #is to close everything off in an attempt to shield the family from danger #and more consciously #she probably sees his leaving #at a time of family crisis #as some sort of betrayal #(which is… not totally unreasonable actually. given the limited information she has #like all she knows is that she asked him to look ahead to see what was going to happen #to their family #and whatever he saw was so fucking terrible #that he basically booked it and left the rest of them to fend for themselves)#but either way i think she would be horrified to know that her family #even just a few members #think that she actively threw him out #but then that's what you get for making open family communication Illegal

750 notes · View notes

animationmovieshipps · 2 years

Text

Always and Forever:

Chapter 5:

"So let me get this right, are you telling me that our daughter just ran away from our home and you didn't do anything to stop her???" Your mother yelled at her husband when she left the room and realized you were no longer there.

"What could I do? Make her stay by force?" Your father asked.

"Yes? As her father and responsible for her you have to impose your authority on her."

"What would that do? She would hate me if I did that and I don't want this to happen. She wouldn't leave this house if it weren't for you." He replied, making your mother indignant.

"What did I do wrong besides being a good mother and keeping her from going down the same path as...?"

"Explain to me how you were a good mother not listening to her when she asked the two of you to talk and wanting to force her to do something she doesn't want to do?" He said, interrupting her.

"Manuel, whose side are you on? From the way you say it sounds like when they get married, God forbid, you're going to have lunch with them taking dessert!"

"Y/N is still my daughter, Consuelo and she's not committing any crime." He said, making her shut up. But like the stubborn person that she was, it seemed to have gone in one of her ears and out the other.

"... Where did she go?" She asked, to change the subject.

"She didn't tell me, but my guess is that she went to the Madrigals' house." He replied.

As soon as she said that, Consuelo's blood boiled at the thought of you living under the same roof as Luisa, where she could induce you to go further than just kisses.

"Oh but I'll go get her right now!" She growled as she grabbed her purse.

"Oh no, you won't!" Your father said, as he ran to the front door of the house before she could reach and locked it, before keeping the key with himself.

"W-what do you think you're doing? I want the best for our daughter!" She raged even more indignantly, but didn't dare challenge the authority of her family's patriarch.

"She left here angry, if you go to her now and force her to come home, things will only get worse. Please, for now, let's wait until tomorrow."

"OK." She reluctantly agreed. "But tomorrow I want her back here at home!"

"If she wants to." Manuel added.

She gave him a defiant look, feeling that wouldn't be the only one of the discussions on that subject that the two would have.

Meanwhile, you were talking to your girlfriend's parents. The good thing about her being your best friend since childhood was that they didn't need to get to know you better to know if you were good enough for their daughter, they knew you were a nice girl and you would treat Luisa as if she were a queen.

Agustín seemed very enthusiastic, you suspected it was because the way she and you met was similar to the way he met his wife. You were glad you two had their support.

"Is it really okay for me to stay here for a few days?" You asked again, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Of course gota de miel, you can stay here as long as you need." Julieta assured you, holding one of your hands in hers.

"Thank you again and sorry for being so insecure about it, I just don't want to be a nuisance to you all." You confessed.

"Someone who's been with us for so long is never a nuisance, niña." Agustín said, which made you smile at him. "By the way, in the future this will also be your home."

"Ay mi amor, please, don't put the cart in front of the donkeys like the other times." Julieta warned him patiently.

"Huh, is she dating our daughter without wanting to marry her?" He retorted.

"Actually, I do." You said. "But Julieta is right, it's a little early to talk about that, we haven't been together for even two days."

You watched with a smile as the two of them played make faces at each other, you had the cutest in-laws.

"Is someone here whispering about me?" Luisa asked, returning after having put your bag in her room.

"Yeah, we were talking about how you wet your bed until you were 6." Her father replied between giggles, making her noticeably embarrassed.

"Sorry guys, but I need to steal her, for a while." She said as she lifted you out of the chair with a quick tug.

"Fine, she's your girlfriend." Juliet said.

She laughed nervously as the two of you walked away.

"What my dad said is a lie, okay?" She whispered to you.

"It's okay, even if it's not, I'll keep loving you the same." You replied, looking at her sweetly with a smile.

She stopped pacing, bent down and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek, making your smile widen even more. With every little moment with her, you were more and more certain that the risk was worth taking.

At dinnertime, everyone in her family commented and talked about your situation, also showing empathy for you and assuring you that you would always have their support in the decisions you intended to make.

You couldn't hold back a few tears of emotion being surrounded by so many lovely and amazing people who accepted you just the way you were. While you helped with the dishes along with Camilo and Mirabel so you wouldn't be a bad guest, Luisa warned you that she would be waiting for you upstairs.

That resulted in several playful provocations and jokes from them towards you, like Camilo taking Luisa's form and pretending to want to kiss you and Mirabel giving you light punches, but you didn't care and played along with them.

After finishing the task, you went upstairs to the second floor, feeling a little nervous. That wasn't the first time you slept in Luisa's room and in the same bed as her, but now that you were girlfriends, the situation was very different, the two of you would want to make out and not just play or talk before bed like you used to be.

After taking a deep breath, you entered the room, which after the house was rebuilt, was no longer a place where everything was made of stones, it was now a normal room, but SO large, that 5 of your old room could fit in there and she used the space well as a personal gym.

Luisa was lying on one side of her body, pretending to read a book upside down, closing it and putting it aside as soon as she noticed your arrival.

She smiled as she reached out a hand and patted the empty side of the bed.

"There's room for one more here."

Giggling nervously, you kicked off your shoes and sat on the bed next to her.

"So you're not really going back to your parents' house?" she asked, to start a conversation. "Even what kind, did she start to accept us?"

"No." You answered. "Today I understood that as long as I live under the same roof as them, I'll never be able to make my own choices. I've never noticed before how controlling my mother is."

"Abuela said maybe it's because she wants the best for you. She also made a lot of mistakes wanting to do the right thing."

You lay down on the bed and approached your girlfriend, lying on her side to look at her. You would never have a more beautiful sight in front of you.

"The best for me is being with you, nena. But she doesn't understand that." You answered.

"I know, but who knows one day?"

"The way she is stubborn, I can already imagine when that day will come." You laughed.

"Stop being so pessimistic." Luisa said in a playful tone as she tickled you.

"I'm a realist, there's a difference." You replied between laughs.

You happily allowed her to wrap her arms around your waist and pull you even closer to her when you could feel the pleasant warmth of her body.

"Amor, can you give me a little kiss?" She requested in a whisper, your faces just millimeters apart.

"For you I only have many, will these do, guapa?" You joked, before your lips came together again.

There wasn't a time when you didn't feel like you were in heaven on earth whenever she and you kissed, you would never got tired, you just wanted more.

As you took the initiative to deepen the kiss by tilting your head to thrust your tongue into the space she gave you, your free hands palpated the muscles in her arms, which wrapped around your body in an increasingly tight grip, as if they were claiming you as being hers. And you couldn't deny that you loved it.

When suddenly, you got scared and threw a tantrum reflexively, as you felt her palm slip under your blouse and gently touch your skin.

Luisa immediately pulled away from you, realizing that you didn't like it.

You couldn't hear anything else in the room other than your heavy breathing, you wanted to apologize to her for overreacting, but you felt so embarrassed, because that could just be a normal thing between couples.

"I'm so sorry, mi amor, I got carried away..." She turned her head to look at you and tried to apologize.

"No, don't be sorry amorcito, it's okay." You interrupted her. "It's just that I got so nervous, everything is happening so fast in my life and it's all so new to me."

"I understand. It's just... You're the first person that... I feel like I want to go further than... Just kissing." Luisa confessed in a soft voice.

You were immensely surprised by that revelation. Having had more than one relationship instead of marrying the first person who appeared in her life like everyone else, the town created rumors that Luisa had had sex with every boyfriend/girlfriend she had ever had.

She didn't care at all about these rumours, as all her loved ones and she knew the truth, including you: It was impossible for her to make love to someone without being very much in love and having an emotional connection with that person.

You felt an immense happiness that barely fit in your chest, what she said only confirmed what you kind of already knew: She loved you, she loved you very much just as you loved her very much too.

"I have to confess that... I feel that way too. About you." You murmured, affectionately stroking her cheek. "But everything is happening so fast, I don't feel ready to take this step yet, I mean, I don't even know how it works and..."

Luisa smiled and before you finished speaking, she pulled you closer to her again, resting her chin on the top of your head.

"It's okay, cariño, I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to. I can wait until you feel ready."

"Why is someone like you with me anyway?" You asked, looking at her passionately.

"Because I love you too much?" She replied in a wry tone, then laughed.

"Yeah, that makes sense." You laughed too, as you hugged her.

You two stayed that way, talking, being loving to each other and cuddling until you fell asleep, spending the night in her arms was the happiest night of your life. You would really miss that when you moved into your own house.

#disney encanto #encanto #encanto 2021 #luisa madrigal #luisa madrigal x reader

99 notes · View notes

faememes · 2 years

Text

𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐏 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄

SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE ENCANTO (2021) AHEAD. PLEASE CHANGE PROUNOUNS AND NAMES AS YOU SEE FIT.

[LYRICS]

The Family Madrigal

"This is our home, we've got every generation."

"So full of music, a rhythm of its own design."

"This is my family."

"A perfect constellation."

"So many stars and everybody gets to shine."

"But let's be clear, Abuela runs this show."

"She led us here so many years ago."

"And every year our family blessings grow."

"There's just a lot you've simply got to know."

"Welcome to the Family Madrigal!"

"The home of the Family Madrigal."

"We're on our way!"

"Where all the people are fantastical and magical!"

"I'm part of the Family Madrigal."

"My tía Pepa, her mood affects the weather."

"When she's unhappy well, the temperature gets weird."

"My tío Bruno-"

"We don't talk about Bruno!"

"They say he saw the future, one day he disappeared."

"Oh! And that's my mom Julieta, here's her deal, whoa The truth is, she can heal you with a meal, whoa Her recipes are remedies for real."

"If you're impressed, imagine how I feel, Mom!"

"I know it sounds a bit fantastical and magical."

"But I'm part of the Family Madrigal."

"Two guys fell in love with Family Madrigal, and now they're part of the Family Madrigal."

"So yeah, Tío Félix married Pepa, and my dad married Julieta, that's how Abuela became an Abuela Madrigal!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

"We swear to always help those around us, and earn the miracle that somehow found us."

"The town keeps growing, the world keeps turning, but work and dedication will keep the miracle burning."

"And each new generation must keep the miracle burning."

"Wait, who's a sister and who's a cousin?"

"There's so many people."

"How do you keep them all straight?"

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. So many kids in our house so, let's turn the sound up, you know why? I think it's time for a grandkid round up!"

"Grandkid round up!"

"Cousin Dolores can hear a pin drop."

"Camilo shapeshifts."

"Antonio gets his gift today!"

My older sisters, Isabela and Luisa."

"One strong, one graceful, perfect in every way."

"Grows a flower, the town goes wild."

"She's a perfect golden child."

"And Luisa's super strong, the beauty and the brawn do no wrong!"

"That's life in the Family Madrigal."

"Now you know the Family Madrigal."

"That's who we are in the Family Madrigal, adios!"

"Ha! Well, I gotta go, the life of a Madrigal!"

"But now you all know the Family Madrigal."

"I never meant this to get autobiographical."

"So just to review the Family Madrigal let's go!"

"It starts with Abuela, and then Tía Pepa, she handles the weather."

"But what about Mirabel?"

"My mom Julieta can make you feel better with just one arepa!"

"My dad Agustín, well he's accident-prone but he means well."

"Hey, you said you wanna know what everyone does, I got sisters and cousins and-"

"My primo Camilo won't stop until he makes you smile today!"

"My cousin Dolores can hear this whole chorus a mile away."

"Look, it's Mister Mariano, hey you can marry my sister if you wanna but between you and me, she's kind of a prima donna."

"Yo, I've said too much and thank you but I really gotta go!"

"My family's amazing, and I'm in my family, so..."

"Well..."

Waiting On A Miracle

"Don't be upset or mad at all."

"Don't feel regret, or sad at all."

"Hey, I'm still a part of the family Madrigal."

"And I'm fine, I am totally fine!"

"I will stand on the side as you shine!"

"I'm not fine, I'm not fine!"

"I can't move the mountains."

"I can't make the flowers bloom."

"I can't take another night, up in my room, waiting on a miracle."

"I can't heal what's broken."

"Can't control the morning rain or a hurricane."

"Can't keep down the unspoken invisible pain."

"Always waiting on a miracle, a miracle."

"Always walking alone."

"Always wanting for more."

"Like I'm still at that door, longing to shine like all of you shine!"

"All I need is a change, all I need is a chance!"

"All I know is I can't stay on the side."

"Open your eyеs."

"I would move the mountains."

"Make new trees and flowers grow."

"Someone please just let me know where do I go."

"I am waiting on a miracle."

"A miracle!"

"I would heal what's broken."

"Show this family something new."

"Who I am inside, so what can I do?"

"I'm sick of waiting on a miracle."

"So here I go!"

"I am ready! Come on, I'm ready!"

"I’ve been patient and steadfast and steady!"

"Bless me now as you blessed us all those years ago."

"When you gave us a miracle!"

"Am I too late for a miracle?"

Surface Pressure

"I'm the strong one, I'm not nervous!"

"I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is."

"I move mountains, I move churches, and I glow 'cause I know what my worth is."

"I don't ask how hard the work is,"

"Got a rough, indestructible surface."

"Diamonds and platinum, I find 'em, I flatten 'em, I take what I'm handed, I break what's demanded."

"But under the surface I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus."

"Under the surface, was Hercules ever like 'Yo, I don't wanna fight Cerberus'?"

"Under the surface, I'm prеtty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of sеrvice."

"A flaw or a crack, the straw in the stack, that breaks the camel's back what breaks the camel's back?"

"It's pressure like a drip, drip, drip, that'll never stop."

"Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop!"

"Give it to your sister, your sister's older, give her all the heavy things we can't shoulder."

"Who am I if I can't run with the ball?"

"If I fall to pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go."

"Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow."

"Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger, see if she can hang on a little longer."

"Who am I if I can't carry it all?"

"If I falter?"

"Under the surface, I hide my nerves and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us."

"Under the surface, the ship doesn't swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is."

"Under the surface, I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this?"

"Line up the dominoes, a light wind blows, you try to stop it tumbling but on and on it goes."

"But wait, if I could shake the crushing weight, of expectations would that free some room up for joy?"

"Or relaxation? Or simple pleasure?"

"Instead we measure this growing pressure."

"Keeps growing, keep going 'cause all we know is pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop."

"Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop."

"Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt and see if she can handle every family burden."

"Watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks, no mistakes, just pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won't let go."

"Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow!"

"Give it to your sister and never wonder if the same pressure would've pulled you under."

"Who am I if I don't have what it takes?"

"No cracks, no breaks, no mistakes."

"No pressure."

We Don't Talk About Bruno

"We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no."

"We don't talk about Bruno, but!"

"It was my wedding day."

"It was our wedding day!"

"We were getting ready, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky."

"No clouds allowed in the sky!"

"Bruno walks in with a mischievous grin."

"Thunder!"

"You telling this story or am I?"

"I'm sorry, mi vida, go on."

"Bruno says, 'It looks like rain'."

"Why did he tell us?"

"In doing so, he floods my brain!"

"Abuela, get the umbrellas!"

"Married in a hurricane!"

"What a joyous day but anyway."

}We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no!"

"We don't talk about Bruno."

}Hey, grew to live in fear of Bruno stuttering or stumbling, I can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling."

"I associate him with the sound of falling sand."

"It's a heavy lift with a gift so humbling, always left Abuela and the family fumbling."

"Grappling with prophecies they couldn't understand."

"Do you understand?"

"A seven-foot frame, rats along his back, when he calls your name it all fades to black."

"Yeah, he sees your dreams and feasts on your screams!"

"He told me my fish would die, the next day, dead!"

"He told me I'd grow a gut and just like he said!"

"He said that all my hair would disappear, now, look at my head!"

"Your fate is sealed when your prophecy is read."

"He told me that the life of my dreams, would be promised, and someday be mine."

"He told me that my power would grow like the grapes that thrive on the vine."

"Óye, Mariano's on his way."

"He told me that the man of my dreams would be just out of reach."

"Betrothed to another!"

"It's like I hear him, now."

"Hey sis, I want not a sound out of you."

"It's like I can hear him now, I can hear him, now!"

"Um, Bruno."

"Yeah, about that Bruno."

"I really need to know about Bruno, gimme the truth and the whole truth, Bruno."

"Isabela, your boyfriend's here!"

"Time for dinner!"

"He's here!"

"Don't talk about Bruno, no."

"Why did I talk about Bruno?"

"Not a word about Bruno."

"I never shoulda brought up Bruno."

What Else Can I Do?

"I just made something unexpected."

"Something sharp, something new."

"It's not symmetrical or perfect, but it's beautiful."

"And it's mine."

"What else can I do?"

"Bring it in, bring it in."

"Good talk! Bring it in, bring it in."

"I grow rows and rows of roses, flor de mayo by the mile."

"I make perfect, practiced poses."

"So much hides behind my smile."

"What could I do if I just grew what I was feeling in the moment?"

"Do you know where you're going? Whoa!"

"What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect? It just needed to be, and they let me be?"

"A hurricane of jacarandas!"

"Strangling figs, hanging vines."

"Palma de cera fills the air as I climb and I push through!"

"Can I deliver us a river of sundew?"

"Careful, it's carnivorous, a little just won't do."

"I wanna feel the shiver of something new."

"I'm so sick of pretty I want something true, don't you?"

"It just seems like your life's been a dream since the moment you opened your eyes."

"How far do these roots go down?"

"All I know are the blossoms you grow, but it's awesome to see how you rise!"

"How far can I rise?"

"Through the roof, to the skies let's go!"

"What can you do when you are deeply, madly, truly in the moment?"

"Seize the moment, keep goin'!"

"What can you do when you know who you wanna be isn't perfect?"

"But I'll still be okay!"

"Hey, everybody clear the way!"

"I'm coming through with tabebuia."

"She's coming through with that booyah!"

"Making waves, changing minds!"

"You've changed mine."

"The way is clearer 'cause you're here, and well I owe this all to you."

"Show 'em what you can do!"

"There's nothing you can't do!"

All of You

"Look at this home, we need a new foundation."

"It may seem hopeless but we'll get by just fine."

"Look at this family, a glowing constellation so full of stars and everybody wants to shine."

"But the stars don't shine, they burn."

"And the constellations shift."

"I think it's time you learn you're more than just your gift."

"And I'm sorry I held on too tight, just so afraid I'd lose you too."

"The miracle is not some magic that you've got, the miracle is you, not some gift, just you."

"The miracle is you all of you, all of you."

"Okay, so we gonna talk about Bruno?"

"That's Bruno!"

"Yeah, there's a lot to say about Bruno, I'll start, okay!"

"Pepa, I'm sorry 'bout your wedding, didn't mean to be upsetting. That wasn't a prophecy, I could just see you were sweating, and I wanted you to know that your bro loves you so let it in, let it out, let it rain, let it snow, let it go!"

"That's what I'm always saying, bro."

"Got a lotta 'pologies I got to say."

"Hey, we're just happy that you're here, okay?"

"Uh–"

"But–"

"Come into the light, the triplets all reunite!"

"And no matter what happens we're gonna find our way."

"Yo, I knew he never left, I heard him every day!"

"What's that sound?"

"I think it's everyone in town."

"Hey! Lay down your load, we are only down the road, we have no gifts, but we are many. And we'll do anything for you!"

"It's a dream when we work as a team!"

"You're so strong!"

"Yeah, but sometimes I cry."

"So do I."

"I may not be as strong but I'm getting wiser."

"Yeah, I need sunlight and fertilizer c'mon, let's plant something new and watch it fly!"

"Straight up to the sky, let's go!"

"The stars don't shine, they burn."

"The constellations glow."

"The seasons change in turn."

"Would you watch our little girl go?"

"She takes after you."

"Hey Mariano, why so blue?"

"I just have so much love inside."

"Y'know, I've got this cousin too."

"Have you met Dolores?"

"Okay, I'll take it from here, goodbye."

"You talk so loud, you take care of your mother and you make her proud, you write your own poetry every night when you go to sleep. And I'm seizing the moment, so would you wake up and notice me?"

"Dolores, I see you."

"And I hear you."

"Yes!"

"Let's get married."

"Slow down."

"Home sweet home, I like the new foundation."

"It isn't perfect."

"Neither are we."

"That's true."

"Just one more thing, before the celebration."

"What?"

"We need a doorknob!"

"We made this one for you."

"We see how bright you burn, we see how brave you've been."

"Now, see yourself in turn."

"You're the real gift, kid, let us in."

"Open your eyes, abre los ojos."

"What do you see?"

"I see me. All of me."

[QUOTES]

"Quitter!"

"I can't do this on my own."

"Let me help, the rats told me everything."

"Don't eat those."

"You're exactly what this family needs."

"You have to stop, Mirabel! The cracks started with you. Bruno left because of you. Luisa's losing her powers, Isabela's out of control because of you. I don't know why you weren't given a gift, but it is not an excuse for you to hurt this family!"

"I will never be good enough for you, will I? No matter how hard I try... no matter how hard any of us try. Luisa will never be strong enough. Isabela won't be perfect enough. Bruno left our family because you only saw the worst in him."

"Bruno didn't care about this family!"

"He loves this family! I love this family. We all love this family. You're the one that doesn't care. You're the one breaking our home!"

"Don't you ever...!"

"The miracle is dying... because of you!"

"Maybe your gift is being in denial?"

"In our darkest moment we were given a miracle."

"Many years ago, this candle blessed our family with a miracle."

"Our house, our casita, came to life with magic!"

"Hola, Casita!"

"Casita, help me out! Drawers, Floors, Doors!"

"Whew- make your family proud!"

"I used to say my real gift is 'acting'!"

"In time, every member of our family was given their own magical gift."

"Uh huh, uh huh. I understand you!"

"The donkeys got out again."

"On it!"

"You’re just as special as anyone else in this family."

"The magic is in danger. We got to get out of here!"

"We must protect our home. We must protect our family.

"I feel like I missed something…"

"Mirabel, the fate of the family is gonna come down to you."

"Sometimes family weirdos get a bad rap."

"Even in our darkest moments, there’s light where you least expect it."

"Whoa- a lot of stairs, but at least I’ll have a friend. No, he flew away immediately."

"This is my chance. I will save the miracle. Wait. How do I save the miracle?"

"I’m losing my gift!"

"JUST TELL US WHAT EVERYONE CAN DO!"

"Annndd… that’s why coffee is for grownups!"

"What’s your gift?"

"Oh, Mirabel didn’t get one."

"Gift or no gift, I’m just as special as the rest of my family."

"I gave you the special since you’re the only Madrigal kid with no gift. I call it the ‘not special’ special. Since, uh, you have no gift."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Last gift ceremony was a bummer- last one being yours."

"Did someone say flowers? Please… don’t clap."

"I can’t."

"I need you!"

"The Magic is strong- and so are the drinks!"

"Open my eyes. If the magic is here, help me save the miracle."

"And Luisa- I heard her eye twitching all night."

"Bruno, your room is the WORST!"

"My gift wasn’t helping the family, but I love my family."

#encanto rp #encanto rp meme #lyrical sentence starters #disney rp #rp meme

35 notes · View notes

angel-tries-to-write · 2 years

Text

No Miracle

Fandom: Encanto Rating: Teen and up Pairing: None Word count: 1520 Genre: angst with no happy ending

Bad ending AU aka what if Casita didn't save Mirabel.

Even in the worst dreams none of them could even imagine a situation like this. Their whole house was in ruin, their beloved Casita kicked them out in the last act of despair. Even facing its own destruction, the house cared about them deeply. They would be impressed if only they didn't have more urgent problems and the first of which was to make sure everyone was alright.

“Mirabel!” Julieta called for her youngest daughter, hoping so much that she was alright. “Has anyone seen Mirabel?!”

“Julieta! Come, quick!” she suddenly heard her sister's scared voice, but she didn't move, still looking around. “Julieta!” Pepa's voice was so distraught that she had to go and check what happened. She assumed it was nothing serious anyway.

Until she saw Camilo sitting on the ground with a blood stain on his shirt.

“I'll be fine, mama, it's just a scratch” he smiled, his lip was also split. He must have gotten hurt when he rushed to save the candle and despite that, he still was brushing it off to calm his mother down. Julieta hoped it was indeed nothing much and carefully examined his injuries. Turned out she was right.

“It's not a deep wound. It's bleeding, but not too heavily. Nothing serious” she stated calmly, trying to reason with her sister, who was on the verge of tears. Even the always calm Félix looked shaken, seeing his son like this. But he managed to think straight and quickly provided bandages, which Julieta used to dress her nephew's wound.

“Thanks” Camilo stood up as soon as she was done. “Hey, at least I'm going to have a cool scar” he joked. Pepa hugged him tight, unable to control herself anymore.

“I was so scared! Don't do that again!” she yelled, holding onto her son for dear life.

“Julieta!” Agustín called his wife and so she stopped paying attention to her sister immediately. Her husband had his arms wrapped around their oldest daughter, who was wincing and clutching her hand to her chest.

“What happened?” Julieta asked with concern, approaching them.

“I think I sprained my wrist when I fell” Isabela explained as she hesitantly let her mother check on the injury. It hurt a lot, she was holding back tears and either she wasn't as good as Camilo, or Julieta just knew because she was her mother.

“It's not sprained, it's just twisted. We have to wrap it up tight. You'll be okay, mija” she smiled and proceeded to wrap her daughter's hand with a bandage. “Anyone else is injured?” she asked, looking around. Suddenly Dolores approached them, but she was looking in the other direction.

“Is that... tío Bruno?” she asked loud enough to get everyone's attention. Julieta and Pepa immediately turned around, noticing the person Dolores was looking at. It was indeed their long lost brother, kneeling in the ruins of their house. They screamed his name and ran to hug him. Pepa was first to reach him, but Julieta froze when she heard him crying. And she saw something she didn't want to see. Blood. Oh no. No.

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry” Bruno whispered, not really reacting to his sisters. Pepa kneeled next to him and gasped. He had the burnt candle in one hand.

And the cracked and blood stained round glasses they knew so well.

“No...” Julieta whispered, approaching a pile of ruins with heavy heart.

“I wish I could see that future. I wish I could prevent it” Bruno sobbed, his head was lowered, hidden behind his black hair. Julieta barely held back her own tears when she started digging in the debris. She was so scared of what she might find there. And she was right.

A hand. A small hand, dirty and bloody.

No.

“NO!” she screamed, digging more frantically. Her husband was by her side in seconds, helping her, even though he was shaking. They knew. They both knew.

“Please, please, please” Agustín whispered as they uncovered white blouse, black hair and the rest of the small and broken body covered in dust and blood.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Julieta pushed the hair back, to see the face. Still and lifeless. “Mirabel!” she screamed, checking for any signs of life. But found nothing. “Mirabel!” she called again, pulling her daughter up with inhumane strength. She checked again. Still nothing. And no chance of changing that state. The amount of blood pooling from Mirabel's head was a clear sign of a deadly wound. Julieta screamed again and it was the most terrifying sound anyone could ever hear. A scream of a grieving mother.

Pepa hugged Bruno tight and started crying on his shoulder when she realized what happened. He let go of the candle and hesitantly wrapped his arm around his sister, forgetting about any insecurities. Isabela and Luisa held each other right, not hiding tears anymore. Félix hugged both his sons, trying to stay strong for them. Dolores took Abuela's hand, even though she didn't have super sensitive hearing anymore, her aunt's scream still hurt her ears and feelings. And Alma... she was reliving her trauma again. In mourning Julieta she saw herself, fifty years earlier, when she had lost her beloved husband. And the story repeated itself. She was so scared that it might happen, that she actually caused this to happen. She tore her family apart because of fear. She wasted the second chance she was given.

And just like fifty years earlier, a mysterious light appeared. It came out of nowhere, maybe fell from the sky, and started to swirl around Bruno's hand. Over Mirabel's broken glasses. And they started to shine, green turned to gold. Suddenly Dolores covered her ears with a grimace, a cloud appeared above Pepa and it started snowing, and Isabela made a completely black rose. Their miracle was back. But nothing else changed. Their house didn't rebuild itself. And worse, Mirabel didn't open her eyes. She remained still and lifeless.

“The gifts are back!” Alma yelled with hope. “Quick, Julieta—”

“These are no gifts” Bruno spoke. He gently pushed Pepa away and stood up, ready to confront his mother. “It was never a miracle. It was a trade” he said with a broken voice, holding Mirabel's glasses like a dearest treasure. “Fifty years ago we were given it, because our padre sacrificed himself so we could live. Today Mirabel did the same” he pointed out, choking back sobs. “We were so wrong. So wrong.”

“What do you mean? You think...”

“I think it was not a blessing like we always thought, mama. And that some things are unavoidable. I left to protect Mirabel and it changed nothing. I knew if I told you that in my vision she was standing in front of a ruined house, you would never accept that. You would try to get rid of her to protect the magic. But the magic didn't need your protection. It needed an offering. Mirabel wasn't granted a gift, because she was the next offering. She was the price we had to pay for using the magic” Bruno explained. “This is why I could never see this moment. It had to be a sacrifice. Selfless. For the good of our family.”

“Just like Pedro...” Alma gasped. “If I only knew...”

“We weren't supposed to know.”

“It was all my fault.”

“We all are to blame” Isabela spoke suddenly. She looked like mess for the first time in her life. And she couldn't care less. “Mirabel was right. We were too focused on the magic and the miracle to see what was important. To see that we can't be happy as a family if we aren't happy as individuals. We should have known that magic always comes with price” she approached her mother, who still held her youngest child and sobbed uncontrollably. Isa kneeled down and hugged her mother and her youngest sister. The area immediately covered with black roses, symbols of Isabela's grief after the loss of Mirabel.

Luisa followed her older sister and joined the rest of the family without a word. Antonio did the same thing. He loved his cousin more than anything.

“I don't want that stupid gift. I want Mirabel back” Antonio sobbed, touching his cousin fearfully.

“Yeah. And a house? We don't need a house” Camilo agreed with his brother and kneeled next to him. “We need you, Mirabel” he said quietly. The rest of the family joined as well with the last being Alma.

“You're the real gift, kid. Not some magic. Don't leave us, not yet. Not like that” Bruno whispered, letting his mother take his hand for comfort.

“Open your eyes” Alma pleaded. “I was so wrong. I'm sorry, I'm terribly sorry. If this is the price for a miracle, we don't want it. All we need and want is to have our girl back.”

But their prayers remained without answer. The deed was done. The price was paid. And there was no refunds. At least they didn't have to pretend they were okay, because they knew they weren't. And they would never be again.

#encanto #encanto bad ending au #encanto dark au #my fic

8 notes · View notes

ladycatofwinterfell · 2 years

Note

This is me, hitting you up to ask about your encanto AU, please?

Shout out to the five other asks hitting me up <3 before I start I have changed some family relations, ages and genders here but anyway THIS WEEK ON THINGS I’LL DEFINITELY NEVER WRITE BUT FIND FUN TO THINK ABOUT

Okay first up is Hoster, who takes the role as Abuela, or Abuelo, in this case. He is the firm leader of the family and cares a lot for it’s well-being and how their gifts can help the people. Minisa is his late spouse and has a portrait hanging in the house. They have the three children Catelyn, Lysa and Edmure.

Catelyn is Julieta, and can make food that heals people. Ned is Agustín, her husband, so he has no power except for loving the fuck out of his wife and kids. Also he’s an awkward dork <3. Together they have their five children

Lysa is Pepa, she controls the weather with her emotions so the weather changes A LOT as she’s kinda nervous. But she means well. Here came the issue of her husband as Pepa also has a husband, Félix, who drank his wife-loving juice. So I have decided that in this AU her marriage to Jaime went through, and they were happy (do not question this plz I have no answer). They have Sweetrobin :)

Edmure is Bruno. His gift is having visions of the future. He decides to leave the family as people believe his visions to be evil and he doesn’t feel like he’s helping them, but he’s actually really kind and loving. He’s also a huge mess of a person.

NOW, STARKLINGS. Or Tullyings, we are Tully focused today. I’m sorry, Jon, but you had to go for this one. Better luck next time.

Robb is Luisa. Eldest sibling whose gift is super strength. Tries not to show weakness and stays strong for his family even when he doubts himself. Is in dire need of a fucking break.

Sansa is Isabela, like literally. Her gift is making flowers and plants bloom. She’s often seen as the perfect child, graceful and poised, but she also wants to be more than that and discovers that she’s more than what she’s expected to be. ALSO, is almost married away to a man for the sake of the family, so yeah definitely Sansa.

Now Arya. I see her as Mirabel. She doesn’t have a gift, and therefore feels out of place in the family but she still loves everyone fiercely and does everything to protect them. She has trouble getting along with Sansa due to their differences, but still loves her and they are close.

Bran is Camilo. His gift is changing his appearance to look like whoever he wants, and he’s very likeable.

Rickon is Antonio. His gift is talking to animals, and he’s an energetic and kind kid. (His room is fucking dope, I want to live in a huge tree)

Sweetrobin is Dolores. His gift is extraordinary hearing, so he becomes really skittish as he can hear literally EVERYTHING.

Riverrun is a magic house.

This post is was too long but thanks for reading

#cat 🤝 julieta #me being jealous of their husbands #but also pepa👀👀#do not have the energy to tag this properly

10 notes · View notes

enchanted-encanto · 2 years

Text

La Canción de mi Corazón / The Song of My Heart—Chapter 7: Here for You

← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →

Read this story on AO3 here!

Fandom: Encanto (2021)

Overall Fic Rating: Explicit (for future smut)

Relationships: Bruno Madrigal/Natalia Moreno (Original Female Character)

Characters: Bruno Madrigal Natalia Moreno, Original Characters, Félix Madrigal, Agustín Madrigal, Luisa Madrigal, Mirabel Madrigal, Camilo Madrigal, Antonio Madrigal, Dolores Madrigal, Isabela Madrigal, Pepa Madrigal, Julieta Madrigal, "Abuela" Alma Madrigal

Chapter Summary: Natalia gets some help from a few of the Madrigals, in more ways than one.

Chapter Warnings: The second half of this chapter gets into some slightly heavier subjects (loss, death, illness grief, fear, loneliness) than previous chapters have, as I wanted to give some deeper insight into Natalia's life and backstory.

______________________________

It took Natalia a few seconds after she opened her eyes the next morning to realize the events of the night before had actually happened and were very, very real.

Oh god wow Bruno Madrigal kissed me last night.

Oh my god I totally made out with Bruno Madrigal last night.

She curled her body tight around her sheets, kicking her legs excitedly.

Me and Bruno actually, we really– She looked over her alarm clock. She had snoozed it a few more times than she meant to and was running about 15 minutes later than she planned.

She jumped out of bed and quickly got ready before running downstairs to pack the catering order into her cart.

"One, two, realistically looking like probably three trips." She mumbled to herself, thinking out loud.

A loud knock on the door startled her.

Did I forget to flip the sign to closed yesterday? I'm sure I remember doing that...

She unlocked the door and creaked it open, unsure what to expect.

She saw Luisa Madrigal standing at her door, tall enough to cover the entire doorframe.

"The cavalry has arrived!" Luisa exclaimed.

"Luisa! Buenos días!" Natalia said, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion. "The cavalry has arrived to do...what exactly?"

"To help you get everything ready and set up for your big event today!" Mirabel Madrigal said from behind her older sister.

"What, you guys! I–thank you! You're the best. How did you–?" She pulled Luisa and Mirabel in together for a hug, wrapping one arm around each sister.

When she glanced between the two sisters, she noticed a very familiar, nervous grin on the face of a handsome man waiting behind them.

"I...may have tipped them off that you could use some help. I'm pretty familiar with the quantities of baked goods you need to deliver today, and as soon as I mentioned how much work you had coming up this morning Luisa and Mirabel wouldn't take no for an answer." Bruno said.

"That's right!" Mirabel said cheerfully.

Natalia sighed and smiled brightly at all of them.

"Please, come on in!" She said to the group.

Luisa and Mirabel stepped into the bakery first, leaving Bruno and Natalia alone for just a moment before he got to the door.

Natalia checked to make sure the girls were inside and quickly kissed Bruno three times in a row on his cheek.

"Thank you, you're so sweet! And hi!" She whispered before running inside.

In the second after that it took for Bruno to get to the door, he was already dizzy with joy over her physical affection.

"Hi." He said with a big grin after she had already walked away, touching his cheek.

"Girls, are you certain you don't have anything else you'd rather be doing on a Monday morning? Aren't you supposed to be resting more these days, miss Luisa?" Natalia teased.

"I'm getting plenty of rest these days, I promise." Luisa assured her. "Nowhere else we'd rather be than helping you right now, Nat."

"Wow, did you really make all this yourself?" Mirabel asked, looking over at the massive quantities of pastries all placed into containers and bags that took up every inch of the kitchen's small circular table.

"Well it was me, and I had a ton of help from your tío of course." She said, looking over affectionately at Bruno.

"I was just the assistant to the master." Bruno responded, making Natalia blush.

"I–wow, I think I may actually be able to get everything over in one trip today! My legs thank you all individually as well." Natalia joked, making everyone laugh.

"We have a minute since I won't have to make three times as many trips now. Tienen hambre?"

"Huh, now that you mention it I actually am a little hungry." Mirabel answered.

"I could eat." Luisa said.

Natalia motioned behind the bakery's counter. "Come on back."

Bruno walked in behind the girls, entering into the back counter area where him and Natalia had spent so much time together the night before. He felt familiar butterflies in his stomach as he thought back on their day filled with baking, dancing, and to both of their surprise and enjoyments, lots of kissing.

"That bag on the counter there is all filled with extras from last night, I always make some extras to give away to friends after a big order like this." Natalia said.

"Oooh, thank you!" Luisa said, wriggling her fingers as she looked through the bag.

"This offer includes you, Bruno." Natalia added, noticing Bruno hadn't said anything in a while.

"Oh, thank you!" He responded, realizing he'd been so caught up staring at her that he'd forgotten to talk for a while.

"Unless you're sick of pastries after all the slave labor I put you through yesterday." She said, making Bruno laugh. He grabbed a cheese danish and munched away on it happily.

"I can't imagine ever getting sick of your desserts." Mirabel said, taking a big bite out of a chocolate croissant.

"Mmm, so good." Luisa said, savoring a blueberry muffin.

"You flatter me. Some breakfast is the absolute least I could do. Help or not, I'm always happy to see any of the marvelous Madrigal girls."

She glanced over at Bruno.

"He's okay too, I guess." She said.

Natalia and Luisa laughed and Bruno smiled brightly, excited about the next time he could do something about her teasing.

"Are you going to have anything?" Bruno asked in between bites.

"Not for now, I usually am running around so much on big catering days like this that I don't feel hungry first thing. I'm cooking dinner for my tía tonight, so I definitely won't forget to eat today."

"How is Maria?" Luisa asked.

Natalia's heart fell a bit in her chest, her worries about her tía returning to her.

"She's good, thank you. I'll be sure to tell her that you asked." Natalia said softly, trying to hide the troubled look in her eyes. Bruno took notice of it immediately, making a point to remind himself to check in on her later.

"Ready to get started?" Luisa asked.

"Let's do it!"

____________________

With everyone's help, the catering delivery went as smooth as it could've possibly gone. Luisa carried all of the bags like it was nothing, and Maribel and Bruno helped Natalia get everything set up at the venue.

When they stepped outside of the venue after finishing everything up, Natalia could hardly believe how easy everything was.

"Okay, I'm absolutely hiring you all for every catering delivery now. That was the most picture perfect delivery I've ever experienced. Gracias, gracias, gracias. Are you absolutely sure I can't pay you for anything? You saved me like four hours of work, no joke."

"Absolutely not. It was our pleasure, Nat. Honestly. We've got your back." Luisa said with a proud smile.

"I am more grateful than you know." Natalia said, looking over at Bruno while she spoke. She had a lot to be grateful for in that moment. "You guys heading back home now?"

The event venue was much closer to the casita then the bakery so it made sense for them to part here.

"Yeah, Isabela's got a new big floral project she needs some help with so we've got an interesting, likely cacti-filled afternoon ahead of us."

Natalia giggled. "I'm sure whatever you all come up with it'll be amazing, I'm loving her new arrangements."

"I'm going to walk Natalia home, if she's okay with that. I'll catch up with you two later." Bruno said to his nieces.

Natalia gave each of the girls big, tight hugs. "Thank you both so much again. See you guys soon, okay?"

"You got it." Luisa said.

"Hasta luego Nati!" Mirabel said with a wave as they headed off for home.

____________________

"Such a gentleman, offering to accompany me on such a long, arduous journey." Natalia teased. "Do you need to be anywhere for the next little bit? I have some extra time thanks to you and your nieces."

"My time is yours as long as you'll have me." Bruno replied.

Natalia's chest felt warmer and warmer with each of his words.

"Maybe we could go sit by the river's edge? It's a beautiful day and I haven't been there in such a long time. I desperately need a break from the inside of the bakery."

"Absolutely, that sounds great."

They walked in silence for a few moments, their arms threatening to touch every few seconds.

Neither of them knew how to approach the subject of touching in public. Touching each other at all was a very recent concept for them both in general. Natalia quickly thought of a plan.

"These streets are highly dangerous, you know." She began, immediately catching Bruno's attention. "I could be pulled away by a rogue bird or a crocodile or something any moment and poof, that's it."

"Hmm, yes that's true." Bruno replied, rubbing his chin as if in deep thought. "I'd be a really bad servant of her majesty's kingdom if I didn't protect her out in public from all the, um, all the things you just said."

Natalia laughed loudly and then, as she'd hoped, Bruno took her hand in his. They linked their fingers together, and she squeezed his hand gently.

"Much better." She said with a bright smile.

When they approached the river's edge, they sat down together on the grass next to the water. Natalia sighed contentedly at the sight in front of her.

"I love this part of the Encanto. Sometimes I get so caught up in working that I forget that a whole world exists outside of the bakery's doors."

"I definitely know what you mean." Bruno replied, the river being the last thing he was able to keep his eyes on. He picked a small daisy that was on the ground next to him.

"Ta-da." He sang, handing it over to Natalia.

"You're a regular Isabela. Thank you." She smiled.

They sat in the quiet for a moment, enjoying the sounds of the running water and the sun on their faces.

"Can I ask you something sort of...personal?" Natalia eventually asked.

Bruno's nerves turned his stomach a bit.

"Of course." He said, sitting up a bit straighter.

"After everything that's happened, everything you've gone through. It's been so crazy to even think about from the outside, I can't even imagine living it first hand. Just– are you doing okay, like really okay? I know it's been a little while since you've been back, I just I watch you go through your days and you're just the sweetest most amazing guy and you'd honestly never know the last ten years even happened to you. How are you honestly holding up? If you want to talk about it all that is, I would completely understand either way."

Bruno was touched by her concern, flattered by her compliments, and deeply relieved that the question wasn't something he was fearing more than anything, something about regretting the night before or wanting things to stop between them.

"That's kind of you to ask." Bruno began. He looked towards the far end of the river and the afternoon breeze blew his hair gently.

"I am okay, really. I love my family more than anything, and there was so much that all of us needed to do to fix things, to grow and become better versions of ourselves. We have finally been able to really work on doing that, I'm so proud of how far everyone has come in such a short period of time."

He laughed quietly, trying to ease his own nerves.

"Being able to...being able to see the future has always been a responsibility I still to this day am not sure how to wield responsibly. I think all of our gifts treat us that way in some respect. We're all trying to better understand our gifts and better understand who we are outside of our gifts."

"I can't even begin to imagine. It's an incredibly big burden for you to bear." Natalia said, twisting the daisy around over and over in her fingers.

"There have been days since I've been back that I've still felt....outside of things, if that makes sense. Felt the sting that missing out on the last ten years brings no matter how much you try to avoid that feeling. It's like, I was there, but I wasn't. The last decade was painful for all of us."

"I'm so sorry Bruno, I absolutely didn't want any of this conversation to be painful, I–" Natalia interjected.

"No no, I really do appreciate you asking." Bruno said reassuringly. "In my family we were always taught to avoid difficult subjects instead of working through them, and unlearning that sort of behavior doesn't happen overnight. Conversations like these are what helps. But truly overall, things are better now then I can ever remember them being. My family has been nothing but apologetic, caring, inclusive, optimistic, all those good things since I've been back. To get things where they are right now, I'd do everything all over again in a heartbeat. It's been such a joy to be around my family again, to watch my nieces and nephews grow up in person and not behind a wall, to actually get to know them. To see my mom and my sisters smiling every day again, nothing beats that. No matter how crazy things have been in between, I'm learning how to really be happy now."

He paused and looked over at her, his expression causing her heart to flip flop in her chest.

"You're no small part of that. I mean, if all of this didn't happen I probably never would have met you. So–"

Natalia leaned over and kissed him, her emotions overtaking her.

"That is exactly the kind of thing I mean when I say I'm grateful." Bruno said softly when they parted, gently caressing her cheek with his fingertips.

"It's...it's really nice to talk to someone about all of this." He said after a moment.

"You can always talk to me, Bruno." She said, wrapping one of his hands in both of hers.

Bruno smiled weakly at her, squeezing her hand gently.

"And you can always talk to me too, about anything." He said.

He paused, uncertain how to start his next sentence.

"I, I was meaning to ask you. Are you sure everything's okay with your tía? Are you okay?"

Natalia felt tears well up in her eyes immediately upon his asking, much to her embarrassment. She had been pushing down a lot of her feelings about this situation lately, and they'd all come back to the surface in an instant.

"Dios mío I'm so sorry I didn't mean to make you cry, I–" Bruno said quickly.

"No, no, it's not your fault at all. I'm sorry."

Bruno wiped a tear gently off of her cheek.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Do you want to talk about it?"

She sniffed and took a second to compose herself before she spoke again.

"I just–do you know much about my family? I don't know how much your family might have told you. We didn't really get to know your family well until right around the time you disappeared. I mean we knew of you all of course, but nothing beyond casual acquaintances."

"I had met your tía few times over the years in passing, but unfortunately not much past that. I want to know anything you want to share, though." Bruno said.

Natalia looked away, her emotions a bit too overwhelming in that moment to keep looking directly in his eyes.

"Me and my tía are the only Morenos left now. Tía never had any children. Her only sibling was her brother Milo, my dad. My dad just had the one kid and he had me really late in life. My mom got sick a few years after I was born. By the time they realized what was going on with her, it was too late for Julieta or the town's doctors to do anything beyond keeping her comfortable."

Natalia paused, looking down at the water running gently over the rocks.

"I wish I'd been able to know her. My dad used to tell me stories about her all the time. She was beautiful and funny and I was told she loved nothing more than playing board games."

"She sounds wonderful." Bruno said softly.

"Fortunately, I had my dad for longer. It's been 5 years now since he's been gone. Him and tía were my whole world. I miss him every day but I know that he's out there somewhere looking over me."

She looked up at the sky, her eyes nostalgic.

"And like I've mentioned before, tía is 94 now. I've been extremely lucky to have her as long as I have. But, her health is failing. I genuinely never thought she'd retire, but when she finally did 3 years ago and gave the bakery over to me I was excited for the opportunity to take on the bakery myself, but from that moment on I haven't stopped worrying about her for a single minute. I knew that she would only retire if she really, truly, couldn't physically do the work anymore. Our bakery has been her life, her passion, it goes back several generations in our family. She's slowing down, not able to do things like she did before, not remembering things as well, just the normal issues that come with old age. Julieta and the local doctors have done everything they can to keep her in the best shape possible, but I can't help but be worried."

She paused.

"I'm so scared, Bruno. Scared for her, selfishly scared for myself about how or if I'm going to handle it when she's gone, just...scared. I shouldn't be thinking about things like that while I still have her, but I can't help myself."

Feeling like his heart was overflowing, Bruno wrapped Natalia up in his arms and held her tightly. After a few moments like that, they pulled apart and he took both of her hands in his.

"Natalia, I had no idea. I'm so sorry. Nothing you've said is selfish at all, everything you're feeling makes perfect sense. It's okay to be scared, it's okay to be unsure. I cannot imagine the pain you've endured, the hurdles you had to overcome. Thank you for sharing all of this with me, for letting me into your world. I am here for you in any capacity that you need me, no matter what happens. Whether that be talking, or letting me make an absolute fool out of myself covering myself in flour to make you smile, I want to be any of that and more for you. I only wish I could have been there for you longer, but I'm here now."

Natalia's tears returned, this time happier ones.

"Oh Bruno, thank you. You don't know how much that means to me. I'm here for you too, always."

Always. He liked the sound of that.

Natalia smiled through her tears. She looked up at the sky for a few seconds, and then back at Bruno.

"To come out of everything we've both lived through and somehow still find each other on the other side, I certainly feel like someone is putting in a good word for us somewhere."

Bruno kissed the top of her hands before he spoke.

"I couldn't agree more."

____________________

End Notes:

Spanish translations for Chapter 7:

-Buenos días: good morning -Tío/tía: uncle/aunt -Tienan hambre: are you (all) hungry -Gracias: thank you -Hasta luego: see you later -Dios mío: Oh my god/my god

← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →

2 notes · View notes

nadiaportia · 4 years

Text

Life Lessons - A Past Tale

Summary: On a day meant for relaxation, a young magician-in-training finds herself in the middle of an explosive confrontation.

Starring the Rubalacaba family; Ximena, Heloisa, Cibela, Esmé and Marisol

Word count: ~4.6k

Content warning for violence (nothing too graphic) and a messed up family dynamic.

It was a warm midsummer’s day, the sun stood high in the sky and my lessons had been finished an hour earlier. Mistress Julia had congratulated me on my good work and progress and allowed to me go enjoy myself outside for the rest of the day while she was going to the docks. Her wife had been travelling to Karnassos to see her family and they haven’t seen each other for several weeks.

As it was a habit, I decided to go the aviary to relax after my lessons. The grounds were vast, in my own opinion a little too vast, so there were always places to hide but the aviary had something about it - despite the fact that I was barely on my own there. It was also my sister’s Heloisa’s prefered location; she could spend hours in there taking care and marvelling at its residents. When we were both younger, she would teach the goldfinches to sing along to her whistling and proudly showed them to the servants and our father. The aviary was her dominion, especially since our older sister couldn’t be less interested in birds and spent the time she was on the grounds training or studying.

The aviary was a large cage made of gilded steel with vegetation and a small river flowing through it, in size bigger than the main hall in the manor, where its residents had free reign to live in. Upon entering, I heard giggling and following the path deeper into the small forest, I saw my older sister. She sat on the ground, stroking a golden pheasant on her lap while a hummingbird flew about her face. It was currently holding one of her black curls in its beak as if to pull her up from her comfortable position.

“No, please, Xquic!”, she laughed and stopped stroking the pheasant to gently let the hummingbird sit on her index finger.

“Dorian deserves his caresses too, you know I don’t play favorites.”

She had given every single bird in the aviary a name and treated each of them like individuals. I liked all of them just fine enough but to Heloisa they were as much as her friends like the noble girls she went to parties with in secret. When she saw me, a grin spread across her face.

“Welcome to freedom! I've been here for two hours now, Livia decided to give it a rest because even she didn't have the spirits to talk for too long about this guy's manifest. I mean, reading about revolting merchants can only be so interesting, especially when you already know they were beaten after the armies of Karnassos and Bizatena came to the Zaan's aid!”

She sighed dramatically and proceeded to make kissing noises at Xquic. I sat next to my sister. The grass was warm and soft, and Dorian raised his head to look at me. I reached out and caressed the top of his crown.

“Well, I spent three hours trying to make portals large enough for a human to fit through, but it takes a lot of concentration. When Julia does it, it looks so easy.”

“Your magic stuff is vastly more interesting than politicking and learning how to lie.”

“I don't get your complaints - Tía Esmé has you on track to leave the junior court meetings and go full game. Cibela attended her first meeting last year.”

My sister's smile turned into a sneer. Even though we all enjoyed the luxury of fundamental education - history, philosophy, various languages such as Bizanti, Zadithian and Prakran, literature, art, music, the sciences and common etiquette proper for a noble of Cartagenth - each of us was also given tutelage in a special field in order to prepare us for our future at the Zaan's court.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”, she said and shrugged, “and still, making portals, lifting objects and talking with spirits is pretty wicked and exciting.” I sighed. It didn't matter if she was the best junior politician and won several play-debates against seasoned courtiers during dinners, she would always want the talents others possessed. But I wasn't in the spirits to argue with her, not today.

“Magic is a lot more complicated than you think, and from what Tía Esme says it might take even years before I am as good as Julia - and I don't wanna be just good enough to become a tutor.”

“By the mother, imagine that! No, you will be the greatest magician of all times, they will build statues for and tell stories of you, not only here but everywhere! Crystalleans in the North, bandits in the South, Firenti in the East and Calpacians all over will know the name Ximena de Rubalcaba!”

I laughed and shook my head.

“If you say so, it will be true one day.”

“Of course it will.” Heloisa reassured me and gently shooed her avian companions away from us. “I talked to Tía Esmé a couple of days ago, according to her it could very well be that I were to start my travels very soon. If you asked me nicely and with a bow on top, I could consider namedropping you to the rulers of far away and powerful countries…”

“How's that going to go down? 'Oh, Queen of Prakra, say, if you happen to be looking for a magician, I might just know the right person - my fifteen year old sister!'”

“No, of course not, you idiot. One of the essences of politics is: less is often more.”

“Ah, yes, less was definitely more on the party thrown by the son of the Karnasso ambassador. Or when Shayera, Filomena and you went to a 'health resort'. Or-”

“Okay, I get it. Phew, it's not my fault you are boring and never want to join in on the fun.”

“Whatever. At least I won't die of boredom in cabinet rooms or in court sessions when I'm a grown-up.”

Heloisa scoffed loudly and stood up. “Fine! And you'll never be a capable magician, in the meantime I'll be dining with the influential sovereigns of the world. Who knows, maybe I'll become the next Zaan before you manage to cast a portal!”

I looked lazily at her, how she stood over me, her hands on her hips, the sun behind her head and casting dark curly hair into a warm light.

“Hm.” I closed my eyes and smiled as I heard her walk off and out of the aviary, fuming while murmering curses under her breath.

And yet she was also my best friend even though we were nothing alike. The nightly carousing my sister loved so much was nothing I could ever be interested in, apart from the fact that she was four years older and thus allowed to do it, but rule-breaking and rebellion without a cause in general never had the same appeal to me. It wasn't as if I hated being in company but it wasn't something I craved like a moth needed the lantern's light, and I certainly didn't have the same social charisma as her, with a face known and beloved by all and the ability to make everyone feel special in her company. I liked being on my own, listening to my own thoughts or doing things on my own such as reading, practicing on Cibela's piano whenever she wasn't on the estate (her visits were becoming rarer anyway), stealing into the kitchen to watch the servants prepare our food (the first time I had done that, they thought Madre had send me to make sure they did a good job), making sketches of the paintings in the galleries and many other things lonely noble children seemed to do, as I had been told by my cousin Agustín. The only son of Tía Esmé was a diplomat on track to becoming an ambassador and during his visits, he would stay on the family estate. Despite him and Cibela being the closest in age, they were like cats and dogs to each other, with him having thrown around the words “cruel” and “heartless” while Cibela had complained to Madre about him being a pathetic excuse of a politician and even a traitor to Cartagenth. So he spent most of his visits with Heloisa and me, even though he always told me I was his favorite - and judging by the sharp remarks he made about Heloisa, even to her own face, there was no doubt it was true. It was a nice feeling to be someone’s preferred company even though I felt as if favoritism seemed to be a family tradition, and not a good one.

I sighed, opened my eyes again and was immediately almost blinded by the sun. The goldfinches were singing somewhere in the trees and something was chirping softly in the scrubs. A thought crept into my mind and I grinned. I sat up, leaned towards the bush and let out a whistle. It rustled and a black manakin made its way to me.

“Hello, you cutie.” I said, and wiggled my finger at it. “Wanna help me in an experiment?”

I hoped this would work. We would throw marbles throw the portals to see whether they fulfilled their purpose but never tried it with a living organism, so if it didn't work…

The manakin tilted his head and looked at me. I sighed.

“Right, you don't understand human speech.” I reached out and softly stroked his chest. “But you're not flying away, so I'll take that as a yes.” He nibbled at my finger. “I'll collect some worms for you, I don't have a problem with digging in the ground unlike someone else.”

A chirp, whether he actually understood a word was another matter.

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. I tuned out the noises all around me and concentrated on the manakin, where it was and on creating a gateway to bring it to another location - not very far, just a few meters away from me. A noise that wasn't quite a noise caught my attention and upon opening my eyes, I saw the bird looking curiously at a small doorway, big enough for him to comfortably fit through, and another one near a tree trunk.

“That's for you. Please…?”

The manakin looked at me as if he himself was unsure of this.

“Go ahead, nothing will happen.” I said with hopefully enough conviction in my voice.

It seemed to have hit the mark because he jumped through it - and reappeared a few meters away from me.

“Yes!”, I screamed and pumped a fist in the air and startling the manakin who jumped about a foot in the air.

Time flew by as I made portals, some bigger than others, for my new friend to walk or fly through, and he strangely seemed to find as much joy as this as me.

I was in the middle of making another one when I heard footsteps. To my surprise, it was Heloisa, with her face dark like a beetroot and her mouth twisted into a snarl.

“What happened?” I asked worried, hurrying over to her but instead of an answer she pushed me away. Her eyes were rimmed red and there was a glint of fire in copper brown that made me take a step back.

“What do you think you're going to do with this?”

“Get out of my way!”, was the snappy answer I received as she made her way over to a tree, reached into a hole in the trunk and pulled something out. A shining steel blade, one that I was sure I had seen many many times.

“By the Devil, is that one of the Nopali swords in the ancestral gallery?” I blurted out and followed Heloisa as she stomped out of the aviary. When I got no verbal response, I grabbed her arm and made her face me.

Her lips switched and she scrunched her nose.

“You'll see soon enough what I'll do to her.” Wrenching loose of my grip, she whirled around and continued her way, and it hit me like a falling anvil to know where she was going. The aviary wasn't far from the estate building itself so it didn't take too long before we reached the first inner court which also functioned as training grounds for the guards. In the center, on the sand ground, a young woman in light armor with one arm on her back and the other wielding a blunt training sword was parrying the blow of a figure also clad in light armor and with a double-handed sword. She dodged the next blow, made a sidestep and used the momentum to hit her opponent in the side with the swords pommel. The opponent clutched their side and wheeled around to meet her blow, metal hitting metal in an ugly noise.

“Hey! Cibela!” Neither of the figures acknowledged us but merely continued their melee.

“Don't tell me you want do what I think you want to do.” I sighed and held Heloisa's arm.

“Don't tell me what to do,”, she hissed and shoved me away, “and don't even dare to tell Mother. Cibela!”

“Don't be stupid and put down the sword, please! You'll hurt each other.”

Fury was written all over her face when she said: “That's exactly what I want to do. I've had enough of her thinking she is better than me just for being allowed to train as a warrior!”

“Then challenge her to chess or something, not a swordfight.”

Heloisa let out a mocking laugh. “Of course you'd say that, words befitting of a cowardly magician.” My cheeks stung at her words as if I had been slapped in the face. “You wouldn't understand. You don't have any fighting spirit, so all you are good for is rolling over and playing dead.”

“I just know that fighting battles I can't win doesn't do any good.”

The noise of a body hitting the floor brought our attention back to the fighters and we saw how the woman took the hand of her opponent to be helped off the ground. Dark curls had escaped her braid during the fight and made her look distinctively messy, beads of sweat glittered on her forehead and her neck and face were flushed.

“May the Devil damn you, stop distracting me!”, she yelled at us and pushed the loose strands of her out of her face. Dark eyes fixated us angrily and Heloisa laughed yet again.

“Oh, is it that easy? I'm starting to believe you are not good a fighter as you make everyone believe. How do you even survive on those battlefields you claim you're so successful on?”

Cibela's face flushed even darker than it did from the exhaustion and she let out an angry snarl. “A mercenary is easy work compared to you, sister. Now go away, be a nuisance elsewhere.”

“No, I won't!” Heloisa screamed and held out the sword in front of her. The swordsman dropped their sword in shock and made a motion to walk over to us.

“Stay your hand, Octavio, or I'll have you fired and sent to live with the rats in the gutter.”

“Lady Heloisa, please calm down. The sword you're holding is sharp.”

Cibela let out a laugh. “Of course it is. Stop this nonsense before you hurt yourself, you're not worth a fight.”

I couldn't stop her from stomping at Cibela and I threw myself between the two of them, holding my hands out. “Will you two stop provoking each other?” I knew better than to ask what exactly caused this dispute to begin; I wouldn't get an answer anyway. Heloisa and Cibela constantly butted heads over even the smallest issues, and it wasn't helped by the fact that they were both too eager to find reasons to get into arguments.

Cibela's lip curled in a sneer. “Even Ximena is more of a realist than you. She knows I'd gut you like a fish if this were an actual fight. You are no fighter; all you can do is talk a lot and charm people into doing what you want them to - and that is something everyone can do, it takes no real talent. You're just as stupid and useless as those birds you love so much - pretty to look at and have around with their feathers and songs but shallow and of no use whatsoever.”

Heloisa roared in anger, lifted the sword and ran at our sister. I jumped out of the way, and saw in shock how Cibela easily dodged the blow and took a few steps back.

“I won't fight you, you don't even know how to! It's a waste of my time and an easy kill.”

Frantically I turned to Octavio. “Get whoever, otherwise they'll kill each other for real!”, I yelled and as Cibela's coach ran off, I stood up and thought about what to do. Damn me for not knowing how to make protective shields!

“Get a real sword and let's find out, and do you think me so stupid to fight you without knowing how to?”

“Yes, I do.”

The next hit on the tourney sword left a dent in it, and Heloisa let out a triumphant laugh. “Don't bother with holding back, or is that all you can do? I have long suspected all you did on those battlefields was have others do your dirty work, seems I was right after all!”

A kick to the stomach silenced Heloisa and sent her tumbling back. Cibela scoffed and walked back to the assembly of swords to train with and took out a silver shortsword. “Yield now, sister. Scars don't suit you and we'd never hear the end of it.”

“I have been watching you train with Octavio and the others, do you really think I never learned even a bit? Or that I might have had someone who helped me from time to time?” The grin slipped from her face as Cibela approached her with sure steps, sword in hands and swung at her. Heloisa ducked and scrambled away from our sister's reach, who looked merely amused. “I think you're in way over your head. But I will give you a lesson you will not forget ever, that you may know your place and to stay in it.”

A quick movement and Cibela took off, sword pulled back to strike at Heloisa, who stood her ground with a determined look on her face. But the impact of Cibela, who was at least a head taller and had a more muscular frame, was enough to send her on her back onto the ground. “Your battles are in court and with words, not blades.”

I screamed in terror as Cibela threw back her arm, to swing it at Heloisa's face-

I acted on instinct, for fear for my sister's life. Light bubbled in my hands and I aimed it at the two. Cibela groaned at the blinding light and covered her face as she stumbled back as Heloisa gave a hard kick at her ankle and rolled out from under her.

“You're a true magician, Ximena,”, Cibela spat at me, her face scrunched up in anger as she stood up, “too much of a coward to get involved directly but always ready to help with dirty tricks. You two are a disgrace to our family name.” Then she spun around to catch Heloisa's wrist, I hadn't even noticed her getting up again and trying to hit Cibela in the back with the pommel.

“Especially you.”

Her grip was so hard that it made Heloisa scream in pain, she dropped the sword and let it fall into the dust between them. Cibela let her fall back, and as if through fog I saw the blade in her other hand find its way onto Heloisa's torso, connecting with it at the shoulder blade and making its way to the hipbone. Someone's shrill scream rang in my ears and only when I covered my mouth I realized it had been me. But I couldn't move, I was rooted to the spot as I watched my sisters, one standing with the tip of her blade bloodied over the other, lying on the group, gasping like a fish out of water.

Someone else's scream brought me back to reality and I spun around to see our mother and our aunt make their way to us, Octavio hot on their heels.

“Oh my goodness!” Madre threw her hands to her face as she saw Heloisa in the dust. Her flowing purple gown fluttered behind her as she ran to them, while Tía Esmé approached me and grabbed me by the shoulders with urgency. “Marilena, what happened? Be quick about it.”

I stumbled upon my words various times and only when she dabbed my face with her cape, I noticed tears were streaming down my face. “He-Heloisa challenged Cibela to a-a fight. I didn't think they'd ac-actually-”

“What's done is done. With me, now.” Her hand wrapped around my wrist like a vice as she pulled me along. “Julia taught you the basics of healing, now's time to make use of them.”

I gaped at Tía Esmé but the steely look in her eyes made me swallow my doubts.

“Are you happy now? Isn't that what you wanted?” Cibela's voice was cold as ice, no hint of regret upon what she did.

“Cibela, what have you done?” Mother cried as she cradled Heloisa, tears were freely running down her face and leaving dark traces of her make-up. My sister was looking at the cut in her chest as if she couldn't believe what just happened. The blood was beginning to stain the burgundy fabric black as it seeped out. She raised a hand to touch it and screamed at the sight of her own blood on it.

“I gave my dearly beloved sister what she was so desperately chasing; someone who would put her back in her place and teach her some respect.”

I stared at Cibela and felt my throat tighten at the venom in her words. For a brief moment, nothing more than a split second, I considered picking up the sword on the ground and hitting her with it, but the thought of it frightened me as soon as I finished it.

The vice around my wrist disappeared and Tía Esmé closed in on Cibela, who held up her chin in defiance. “Did you stop to think about turning down the duel and reason with her without spitting poison? Is this how an officer of the Grand Army of Cartagenth behaves, or this is more akin to a lawless bandit?”

Cibela took a step forward, her face mere inches away from Tía Esmé. “She was the one who insisted on a duel, she can be lucky I decided to show mercy even if I was in the full right to kill her and I wouldn't have shed a tear if I had done so.”

The silence behind that statement lasted both nothing and an eternity, and the ensuing sound of the back of Esmé's hand hitting Cibela's face full force seemed deafening. Mother screamed and instantly let go of Heloisa to help her eldest of the dust, leaving me to catch her before she hit the ground.

“You ungrateful little parasite.” Esmé sneered as Cibela held the side of her face where she had been hit, “have you learnt nothing? Family is the only thing that matters. Without us, you’re a fucking nobody. Get out of my sight.”

Cibela scrambled onto her feet, a trail of blood running down her nose and furious tears building in her eyes. Without a further word she whirled around and left the training grounds, with Madre running after her and saying words made unintelligible by her sobs.

“Octavio, get a doctor. Have them bring something for transport.” The coach bowed quickly with a murmured “Yes, General.” and ran back into the building.

I took a deep breath as I laid my hands on Heloisa's chest. She let out a scream and squeezed her eyes shut. Esmé knelt next to us and regarded the wound with an expert's eye.

“Try to keep her from bleeding out, from what I see the wound is not deep enough to make lethal damage but you can never know. I've seen soldiers bleed to death from a lot less and survive a lot worse.”

She reached out and took Heloisa's hand, gently stroking the back of it with her thumb. “Stay awake, it'll all be alright.”

…

It would be alright, but it ended up taking two whole months. Two months that Heloisa spent in bed, taking medicine that would hurry up the healing process and barely being able to move without experiencing pain. That did not prevent her tutors from giving her stuff to read and it drove her mad with anger, along with the fact that this prohibited her from leaving with the junior council to places such as Vesuvia and Firent. I was the one keeping her company most of the evenings, occasionally Madre or Padre would join but more often than not instead of them it was Tía Esmé if she happened to be on the grounds and not in the city or at court giving war council. Cibela had left the estate grounds days after the incident to lead a division of Cartagense soldiers to the Sea of Persephia, which had to be a journey of approximately two months. After a long discussion between Tía Esmé and Madre on which I had eavesdropped, they decided it was best to send Cibela away for at least a while for the bad blood to die down, and the troops desperately needed support on the front.

“Against who is the Grand Army fighting now?” I asked Tía Esmé one evening during dinner.

“The Bizanti are on the verge of starting a trade war after being threatened by a small, way too insignificant city state and it is our duty to stand by our allies and aid them in crushing the enemy.” Her gaze turned cool as she spoke. “You make it sound as if you think we are always at war with others.”

“Aren't we? You're always holding war councils with the Zaan and his courtiers.”

“Ximena!” Madre put down her fork and looked at me. “Don't speak like this to your aunt, especially not at the table.” But Tía Esmé merely raised her hand. “I don't mind, Marisol. And I don't blame you, dearest, after all you are still only a child whereas your sisters understand the way things work. We have the right to defend ourselves from our enemies at all costs.”

“I know, but does it have to be that way? Agustín surely could solve this, isn’t that what diplomats are for?” Aunt Esmé regarded me with a raised eyebrow, Madre laughed quietly and soon everyone turned their attention back to the food. Even Heloisa seemed to agree with them when I told her what happened at dinner.

“You should be glad we have people like Tía Esmé. If generals like her hadn't been so successful, Cartagenth would’ve already been conquered by someone and instead of the Zaan, some foreign ruler would call the shots.”

I sighed. “Maybe you're right. But not everything needs to end in bloodshed.” You out of all people should know that, I thought bitterly and sat down in an armchair.

“Some people simply don't know better,”, Heloisa sighed, like always lacking self-awareness, and turned her attention back to her book. I looked at her, my tongue barely holding back a sharp remark, and grabbed the card deck. With Julia not teaching me divination beyond the basics, it was the only area I had to work on myself. The books in the library were helpful but it was mostly a matter of practice, as I found out. A lot of practice and listening. I shuffled the deck and pulled out a card. Justice, reversed. Unfairness and lies. How very fitting.

#my writing #ximena rubalcaba #heloisa de rubalcaba #no beta reading we die like MEN in this household

10 notes · View notes