A Helping Hand (A Xibalba and La Muerte Story)
Disclaimer: I don't own Xibalba and La Muerte or the Book of life.
Knock, knock!
"Enter!" La Muerte called out. She was currently in her bedroom, sitting by the vanity, trying to finish brushing her long hair.
The door opened to reveal it was Xibalba on the other side. "Are you almost ready, my dear?" he asked as closed the door behind him and came up to stand next to her.
"Yes, I just need to finish this one last-." The queen cut herself off as she soon realized that her brush had hit a rather large snag in her hair. She tried pulling the brush down again in hopes of dislodging the tangle, but it refused to relent.
Letting out a small, annoyed huff, La Muerte tugged the brush down once more, applying a bit more force behind it.
"Darling, I don't think that's such a-." Xibalba's warning came a bit too late since no sooner did he open his mouth, La Muerte let out a "Ouch!" as she wrenched the brush downwards. She removed the hairbrush to see that her rash actions had caused it to take a fairly decent clump of her dark tresses out. And to add to insult and injury, the knot in her long mane was still there.
"Oh, for goodness sakes," La Muerte exclaimed, tearing the chunk out of the hairbrush and glaring at it as though it was the bane of her existence.
The god beside her let out a small laugh before extending his hand out. "Here love, let me help you before you end up giving yourself a bald spot."
La Muerte blinked, looking at her lover to the brush then back to him again before letting out a sigh of defeat and handing the brush over to him.
Once he took it, Xibalba grabbed a small section of gnarled hair and then slowly and carefully dragged the bristles through it. She had anticipated pain, but much to her surprise there was none whatsoever. In fact…it felt really good. She hummed in contentment, her eyes slipping shut.
After a few moments, she heard, "There. How's that?" the king's voice snapped La Muerte out of her slight daze and caused her to reopen her eyes. She ran her fingers through the long stands, searching for any tangles. There were none.
The goddess smiled. "Gracias, Xibalba. My hair can be such a hassle sometimes."
"I love your hair." Xibalba commented with a grin. "It's so beautiful. Just like the rest of you."
La Muerte blushed slightly at the complement. "Flatter." She accused playfully. "But I really should think of cutting it one of these days."
Xibalba's face contorted into a horrified expression. Cut her hair?! Just the thought of La Muerte cutting her gorgeous, thick mane sent a chill through his bones. "No, don't cut it!" he blurted out before he could stop himself.
The queen was a bit taken back by his sudden outburst and raised an eye ridge at him. "Why not? It would certainly same me some trouble of getting ready."
"Because…because it's beautiful and fun to toy with and I love how it feels when I run my hands through it…and…and…" the dark lord took a hold of her hands, shooting a pleading look. "Please, mi amor, don't cut it."
La Muerte chuckled inwardly how dramatic he was being and over her hair of all things. But she decided to indulge him irregardless. "Oh, alright, I won't cut it. But only if you help me if I ever need it again."
"Deal," Xibalba said, looking quite relieved. "Now let's finish getting you ready."
She nodded and turned back towards the vanity to grab the red ribbon on top of it to hand it to Xibalba. He took it and then moved behind her so he could tie her hair back. While he did that, La Muerte was working on placing the two large marigolds in their usual spots.
Once that was finished, she stood up and grabbed her incredibly decorated sombrero off the mannequin she usually placed it on when she wasn't wearing it and put it on her head. "Okay, now I'm ready."
"Then shall we head out, milady?" Xibalba gave a small bow before offering his arm to her.
La Muerte giggled, performing a small curtsy and looping her arm around his. "We shall, my lord."
Author's notes: So I had this idea in my head for quite a while. After all, La Muerte has a lot of hair and it must be a pain sometimes to brush it all by herself. So who better to help her then Xibalba?