What Did I Do Wrong?
Synopsis: Miguel finds El Dorado captivating, but Tulio is worried the blonde will slip up and reveal they're not the gods the people believe them to be. Tulio and Miguel have agreed that Chel is off limits, but when one man breaks the rules and gives in to temptation,
so does the other. Now, their friendship is on the rocks, and neither understands why.
Author's Note: Split into chapters to give alternating POVs from Miguel and Tulio. This is a style I need to work on more often, and the last time I did so, I really tugged at my own heart strings. I'd like to see if I can acomplish that a second time with this story as well.
CHAPTER 1: (Miguel's POV) She's Off Limits
I've all but given up hope. Tulio has nearly convinced me that the map is been a fake as he pulls me onto Altivo's back. "No! Not with the face, stop!" he sighs. We're suddenly all taken by surprise when a beautiful young native girl runs into us. She bumps into Altivo and falls flat on the ground. The horse spooks as a group of natives surround us. The girl tosses something to Tulio and he and she pass it back and forth between themselves for a moment.
"Uh, hello. Is this your rock?" TUlio asks, when he looks up seeing the angry mob of natives, "Sorry. We're just looking we're tourist.
You know, tourists?"
"We've lost our group, may we go now?" I add.
"Heh, spears..." Tulio chuckles nervously as the natives point their weapons at us. My arms around his waist, I can feel him trembeling a little. He likes to feel like he's in control of things, and right now, we're surrounded by a semi-circle of angry natives with spears on our one side, and a rather LARGE rock with the carving of two men on a serpant of some sort on our other. The girl in front of us, there's truly no way to go.
The natives are rather insistant that we accompany them, and it's hard to argue when there's a spear in your face. They take the girl as well, and she seems rather protective of whatever it is she's carying with her. We're lead to a boat and all take our places in an awkward silence. No one speaks and this boat ride feels like it's taking forever. Tulio and I nudge each other and exchange a quiet glance, however, as the cloth around whatever it is the girl is carrying slips down, revealing a glimmer of gold. "Can it be?" I think.
Judging by the look on Tulio's face, he thinks so, too. She realizes the cloth has slipped and quickly covers the object up, hugging it closer.
Suddenly, the cave we're traveling through gives way to sunlight and there's something tall and glinting behind us. Tulio and I gasp,
once again exchanging looks. We quickly whirl around, mouths agape and eyes wide open. "Oh my..." I gasp.
"It's El Dorado!" we say in unison.
The natives push us back onto the horse, myself in front this time, and they pull the girl from the boat and herd us into the city.
We're done for. I just know it. I can sense my partner's unease behind me. He's thinking the same thing. Well, if we're going to die, I may as well come clean about a few things, right?
"Well, it was nice working with you, partner," Tulio says.
"Tulio, I just want you to know... I'm sorry about that girl in Barcelona."
"So... You... You...f...!" Tulio's fuming, I can hear it in his voice, and I can feel his eyes trying to burn a hole in the back of my head. I truly am sorry it happened, but I never told him for fear he'd kill me. He'd fallen hard for the girl, but she left him for another man. She'd left him for me. When I realized what happened, I'd called it off with her. I couldn't in good concience stay with her knowing it had broken my best friend's heart. It took days to console him and I had trouble keeping him out of the tavern bar.
When Tulio drinks for fun, he's great to be around, he's actually quite the happy drunk. But when he hits the bottle in attempt to forget his troubles, he's a nightmare to be around. He's no longer in control and can become rather violent, throwing obscenities,
among other things. It was not fun trying to sober him after that incident. Before he can finish his thought, we're interrupted.
"BEHOLD!" a voice exclaims, "As the prophesies fortold, the time of judgment is now!" We both look up to see a tall, skiny native with a large nose standing with his hands in the air. The other natives are all looking at him. "Citizens, did I not predict that the gods would come to us?" Tulio and I look around, then at each other in confusion. I'm not sure what's going on, but this guy just saved me from Tulio's wrath. "My lords," the tall man greets us, "I am Tzekel-Kan," he bows, "Your devoted high priest and speaker for the gods."
Another man, much larger, with shoulder length hair approaches. "I am Chief Tannabok. What names may we call you?"
"Huh?" I blink in a moment of confusion, but quickly introduce myself, "I am Miguel."
"And I am Tulio," Tulio adds, "And they call us Miguel and Tulio!" We both try to strike a pose of confidence and I give a gentle tug on Altivo's reigns to signal for him to do the same.
"Your arrival has been greatly anticipated," Tzekel-Kan says. It has? That's news to me.
"My lords, how long will you be staying in El Dorado?" the cheif inquires.
Before we can answer, Tzekel-Kan grabs hold of the girl's wrist and drags her forward. "I see you captured this temple-robbing thief.
How would you have us punish her?"
Something about the way he says this sends a cold chill down my spine. Tulio and I dismount the horse. "Oh!" the girl laughs. "No, no,
no, no, no!" she says quickly. "My lord, I am not a thief. See, the gods..." she points at us over her shoulder with a thumb, "Sent me a vision... To-to bring them tribute from the temple to guide them here." She bows as low as she possibly can while the priest is still holding her wrist. "My only wish is to serve the gods." She glances at us, with a pleading look of 'Help me out here, will ya'?'
Tulio is staring at her a little too long, before he finally looks up at the priest. "Release her!" he says almost comanding, "Don't you think?" he adds, a little less confidently. There are gasps and murmors from the crowd.
Tzekel-Kan releases her and hands her the item she'd been holding earlier in the boat. "Then you will begin by returning this to its rightful place," he orders. The girl looks disapointed, but she quietly leaves with the item in tow.
"My lords, why do you choose now to visit us?" Chief Tannabok asks.
"ENOUGH!" Tzekel-Kan growls. "You do not question... the gods!"
I don't stop to think. If people start asking questions, they may figure out they're wrong about us and who knows what'll happen, then.
I step forward, "That's right! Do not question us, or we shall have to unleash our awesome and terrible power! And you don't want that!"
"Well, yes!" Tzekel-Kan laughs, "We do!"
Wait...? What? "You... do?" Ok, this guy's kinda creepy.
"Of course we do!" Tzekel-Kan says, still laughing, "Visit your wrath upon this nonbeliever! Show us the truth of your divinity!"
Ok, I take that back, he's REALLY creepy! I didn't expect him to call my bluff, especially where his own chief was concerned. "Divinity!"
Tulio says, looping arms with me. "One moment." He jerks me hard. "Miguel, you know that little voice people have?" he whispers harshley, "The one that tells them to quit when they're ahead? You don't have one!" he growls accusingly. Well of course not, Tulio,
that's why I have you.
"Well, I'm sorry. I got carried away," I admit, apologetically.
"WAAAY away!" Tulio scolds. He still doesn't feel he has control on the situation, and he's clearly annoyed by it.
"Maybe we should tell the truth and beg for mercey?" I offer.
"Are you nuts?" he hisses, "We'll be butchereed alive!"
"Yes, but, they're getting supsicious. I didn't think they'd actually call me on it. But if we don't come up with some mega-cosmic event..." I start. There's a rumble in the background and the ground starts to shake. There's a volcano in the distance, which is starting to smoke. Great, is it planning to errupt? An armadillo that's been following us for some time now, after I'd inadvertantly saved it from a snake when cutting a tree limb while traversing the jungle, is skittering around between our feet, chasing a butterfly.
"I'm trying," Tulio sighs in frustration, "I'm trying! I can't think with all these distractions." He turns to Altivo. "You, Horse!
Think horse, think!"
Now I know he's lost it. I reach out and hit him in the forehead. "Think, think," I whisper. Blunt force seemed to help him think while we were in the brig on Cortes's ship. I can tell the natives are confused as Hell about what we're doing now. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see them looking back and forth between us and the volcano.
"I'm on the verge of," Tulio grumbles. "STOP!" he shouts, his voice echoing.
I don't know what powers that be decided to shine upon us two lowly conmen at this exact moment, but something happened. Tulio's voice is quite comanding. Somehow, everything goes quiet in the wake of his echo. The volcano stops. The horse and armadillo both fall quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Turning around, we find the crowd has fallen dead silent, seeming to hold their breath, nearly all of them are on their knees. Tulio and I exchange looks. Amigo, someone up there loves us!
I turn and look at a guard who's still standing and point at him. "Don't make me start it up again, 'cause I will," I warn. The guard quickly drops to his knees.
"Oh might lords!" Tzekel-Kan greets us, "Come. Let me show you to your temple."
That worked? That actually worked?
"All right! Temple," Tulio says excitedly.
Tzekel-Kan turns to find Chief Tannabok standing between him and the temple. "Step aside," the high priest hisses. The chief lowers his head and reluctantly steps aside. However, he joins us on the walk to the temple.
Oh dear God! Why does this temple have so many stairs? Tulio, Altivo, and I are all gasping for air and wabbly in the knees when we reach the top. But the two native leaders aren't winded at all. Tulio and I quickly strike a convincing pose of confidence when Tzekel-Kan and Chief Tonnabok turn back to us. "My lords," the Chief invites us.
"To commemorate your arrival, I propose a reverent ceremony at dawn," the priest suggests.
"Ah, then perhaps I could prepare a glorious feast for you tonight?" the cheif offers.
Are they competeing here? "Which would you prefer?" the priest asks.
Tulio and I look at each other with a brief moment of uncertainty. "Both?" he asks.
"Both." I say.
"Both," we both say looking back at them.
"Both is good," I state.
"My lords," the chief and priest say in unison, taking their leave.
Tulio and I stop to look around the temple. It's amazing in its grandier. It's unlike anything we've ever seen. "Hey..." Tulio says,
turning to me and giving me a playful shove.
"Hey," I return with a chuckle, playfully hitting his shoulder.
"Tulio... Tulio, they actually think we're gods!" I laugh.
"It's an entire city of suckers!" Tulio chuckles, "We just have to keep this up long enough to load up on the gold and then get the hell out of here!"
"Tulio, we'll be living like kings!" I exclaim.
"Miguel and Tulio!" he strikes a pose.
"Tulio and Miguel!" I say, striking pose myself.
"Mighty and powerful gods!" we laugh in unison, flexing our muscles.
"Hello," a tiny voice comes from behind us.
We jump and turn around to find the girl from earlier. "Depart mortal, before we strike you with a lightning bolt!" Tulio warns, trying to scare her away. I click my tongue and curl my fingers at her, trying to make a point. She hums and plays with the golden head statue that she'd come to return. She seems uninterested.
"Beware the wrath of the gods! Begone!" I attempt.
"Save it for the high priest, honey. You're gonna' need it," she says.
I click my tongue and wiggle my fingers at her again. "Miguel, it's not working," Tulio says, leaning toward me. I try one more time.
"Miguel! We've been caught."
"Oh no," the girl laughs, "Don't worry about me, boys. 'My only wish is to serve the gods.' Remember?"
"How?" Tulio asks.
"Well," She stops playing with the golden idol and puts it back in place, then turns back to us. Man, check out those curves. That tan skin,
that long silky black hair, those dark eyes. This girl's quite the exotic piece of work. "If you guys want the gold, then you don't want to get caught, right? Then you're going to need my help."
"What makes you think we need your help?" I ask.
She mimmics my earlier jesture. "Are you serious?" Altivo shakes his head and whickers, almost as if he's lauging at me. Tulio and I exchange looks. "I-What-we..." I look back at her. "Ok. So, uh, who are you?"
"Yeah, what's your angle?" Tulio asks, pointing at her. I can't help noticing he's checking her out just as much as I was, maybe even more so.
"No angle," she says calmly, "I want in."
"In?" we ask.
"On the scam," she says pointing at us.
"There's no scam! Why would you think there's a...? Why?" Tulio asks.
"So I can get out," she says, thumbing over her shoulder again.
"I thought she just said she wanted in?" I ask in confusion.
"She wants in, so she can get out," Tulio explains.
"Ah, got it!" I say. Wait? I turn and look back at her. "Wh-why?"
"Think you're the only ones who dream of better things? Of adventure? You've got your reasons, I've got mine. Let's not make it personal,
okay?" she says, "Just business." Yeah. Probably for the better. We don't need a repeat of the girl from Barcelona. She wraps her soft,
slender arms around our shoulders and all but smooshes our faces into her boosm. "Sooo... When you guys are ready to go back to...
WHEREVER you came from, I'm going with you."
"No, I don't think so!" Tulio says, pulling away, with a nervous chuckle.
"All right. Fine," she says, pushing us both aside and starting to walk away. "After all, I'm sure you know the proper rituals for blessing a tribute, the holiest days on the calendar..." She turns and leans into Tulio, pressing a finger to his chest, before reaching up and pinching his cheek, "Oh, and of course you know all about Xibalba?" She smiles and turns to walk away again. "Okay? Good luck." She waves. "See you at the execution."
"Wait! Ho... Would you... Hold it?" Tulio exasperates, running after her.
She smiles and turns around. "Deal?" she asks, holding out her hand.
"Deal!" I say, reaching out to shake with her.
"Not yet!" Tulio growls, pushing me back. "Let's just see how this works out." Tulio, you're always so damned cautious. Learn to live a little, would ya'? If we don't take her in, she could still give us away, after all.
"Uh-huh," she says, still smiling, "Well, then I suppose that means you'll want these back?" She holds up a pair of red dice. They're the loaded dice Tulio was using back in Spain, the day we won the map.
"How'd you get those?" Tulio asks, patting himself down before snatching them back from her.
I look her over again. "Where was she keeping them?" I ask.
She smiles even bigger. "Call me Chel, your new partner!" she announces happily, running past us to grab some clothes from the corner of the room.
"Uh, that's partner in training!" Tulio starts. I roll my eyes. I love the man, but he really does need to learn to lighten up.
Suddenly, we're both buried under a swoth of cloth. "Now, put these on!" Chell says, in an almost sing-song voice, "Your public's waiting."
We start to get changed, but suddenly hear a giggle. Glancing back, we see that she's sat down by the door, watching us. "Do you mind?"
Tulio asks.
"No," she says, shaking her head. "Oh, oh, oh!" she says in realization, "Right. Uh, excuse me." She backs her way out of the room.
Before we can return to getting dressed, she peaks back in with a quick, cute little, "Bye!" before disappearing again.
Tulio pauses and glances back at the entrance. There's a slight smile on his face, and I recognize that look in his eye. Maybe this is my chance to make up for the whole Barcelona thing? I tuck my hands behind my back, already half dressed and give him a gentle nudge with my shoulder. "Mm-mm-mmm! Maybe they should call this place 'Chel Dorado'?"
Tulio's hold on the pants in his hands tightens and he gives a slight chuckle. "She's whoo... WOAH! No!" he shouts, turning to face me, his pants now flying across the room. "Whoa! She's trouble! Waita a minute!"
"What?" I ask. I honestly thought he liked her. Hell, if he doesn't want her...
"The little voice," Tulio says, "Remember the little voice?" He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose for a second. "Ju-Ju-Just for a second, imagine that you have one, ok?" he says. "What would it be saying about Chel?" I glance back the way she left, then let out a growling purr. "No! No. Listen." Tulio chides me out of my debaucherous thoughts. "We are partners," he says, motioning his hands back and forth between us. "We have a plan, remember?"
"Get the gold. Go back to Spain," I say, almost like a child reciting from his school books.
"Yes!" Tulio says, "And we are pretending to be gods," he continues. "Now, put Chel in the mix. What is the voice saying? Now listen carefully..."
"Chel... is off-limits, hmm?" I ask.
"Bravo! Chel is off-limits!" Tulio says, "Shake on it."
We shake in agreement and finish changing. "Off-limits," I agree. "Besides, we're supposed to be gods. We must avoid giving in to temptation."
"Gods. Oh. This is gonna' be toughter than I thought," Tulio sighs nervously.
"Tulio, relax!" I say. "All you have to do is smile, act godly, and follow my lead," I say pinching him under the chin. Just stand there, look pretty.