A Tale of Forbidden Love and Rituals
Chapter 1- Prologue
Fourteen years Ago…
A shadow crept through the cracks, stalagmites and rough terrain of the Land of the Forgotten; being a non-corporeal form, he could not be harmed by such insignificant things. It swiftly headed towards one particular structure in the middle of the realm, in the middle of an extensive lake of lava. The castle had the shape of two massive coiling serpents with open mouths, and a thin bridge connected it to mainland, with more statues of snakes adorning it.
The spectre-like shadow flew to the balcony in the highest tower of the castle, approaching the crystal doors silently like a predator stalking its prey, orange eyes glowing warily in the darkness of the realm. The shadow slid under the frame of the crystal doors and into the chambers of the castle's lord and master. Once inside, it scanned the room until its eyes glued unto the thing it had come looking for in the first place.
A cradle, a few steps away from the king-sized bed.
The shadow approached the cradle silently to avoid disturbing its occupant and alert it to its presence. Once the shade was close enough, its orange eyes looked down scornfully at the cradle's occupant. The newborn baby girl was a few days old, maybe three-weeks to be more precise; she was shifting in her sleep every now and then, suckling unto her pacifier.
Anyone would be endeared by such a scene, but not the shadow. Instead, it hissed and narrowed its orange eyes at her. Its body might be forever imprisoned in the Land of the Forgotten, but it didn't mean he was completely cut off from the world. He had heard what had happened not long ago; the birth of La Muerte and Xibalba's daughter, the whelp he had in front of him. However, he also heard La Muerte died at childbirth… all to bring this thing into the world.
For a moment, the shadow was captivated by the resemblance the child had to her deceased mother. Every detail, the sugar skin, the raven hair, the pretty golden patterns in her face and body, he might have even said she was La Muerte reborn… but then the child opened her eyes, and he was brought out of the trance when he realized her eyes were like those of Xibalba: red pupils in a pool of green acid green. The baby looked up at him curiously for a while.
"Damn you…" the shadow hissed in low voice, in a tone that would have sent chills down anyone's spine. "Because of you, she is dead…!" the tone of his voice and his frightful appearance soon made the baby sob in fright, her pacifier slipping from her lips. "Damn you!" the shadow opened his mouth and prepared to kill the baby with one bite…
A stream of black, razor-knife feathers struck against the shadow, sending him against the wall with a cry of pain while a blur of black and green flew swiftly towards the cradle and lifted the baby in a protective embrace before landing away from the shadow; by then, the baby had started to cry her fright out.
Xibalba had been doing some research into a certain matter when suddenly he felt a slight oppression in his chest, a feeling of dread brewing up, but he didn't know why. He took a hand to his chest, and felt his heart accelerating its pace, like it was trying to tell him something…
Marigold!
With a flap of his wings, Xibalba took off from his seat in the library, sending books and papers flying, and burst the doors open, then he flew towards his chambers as quickly as he could. Xibalba burst into his room just in time to see a shadow about to deliver a fatal attack on his baby; acting on instinct, he flapped his wings towards the intruder, throwing sharp feathers at it and successfully getting it away from Marigold's cradle. Still, Xibalba flew towards the cradle and quickly took his wailing baby in his arms, then he landed in the other side of the room, flaring out his wings and glaring daggers at the intruders, all the while holding his daughter protectively against his chest.
"YOU!" he hissed.
"You recognize me, huh?" the shadow narrowed his eyes as he let out a cold chuckle. "What an honor. I thought that after all these centuries you would have forgotten about me already."
"Unfortunately, I haven't! I haven't forgotten what you nearly did to my wife!"
The shadow narrowed his eyes hatefully at the crying baby in Xibalba's arms. "I'm surprised that you protect that brat after she killed La Muerte!"
Xibalba growled as he tightened his hold on his daughter. "My daughter has killed no one! What happened to La Muerte was not her fault! I swear, if you touch one single hair on her head I'll personally torture you until you're nothing more than ash and dust!"
"You won't be able to protect her forever, Xibalba…" the shadow snickered evilly, a long, serpentine tongue slithering out of his lips "Sooner or later you will make a mistake, and I'll be there." With a last cackle of wickedness the shadow vanished in thin air, leaving the dark god alone with his wailing child.
Once he was certain the shadow was gone, Xibalba looked down and immediately checked on his daughter for any injuries the shadow might have inflicted of her, but felt a great weight being lifted off his chest when he saw none. "Shhh, sh-sh-sh. It's okay, mi florecita. Papi's here, papi's got you." He cooed and bounced her in his arms, holding her closer than ever before, wiping her tears with his thumb. "I'm not letting anything happen to you."
It was a while before he managed to soothe Marigold down, by giving her back her pacifier and singing her a lullaby, but when she did finally go back to sleep he did not place her back in the cradle. He didn't want to risk her life again if the shadow came back.
"Hermanito!"
Both Zipacna and the Candlemaker materialized in Xibalba's chambers as soon as his message reached them. Sure, it was one A.M and Zipacna was wearing a light blue pajama with crow slippers, but they knew this was a grave matter. "We came as soon as we got your message! Are you and Mari-goldie okay?" The Candlemaker asked in worry.
Xibalba was facing the crystal doors of his balcony, looking down at his sleeping daughter in his arms, stroking her cheek tenderly. Marigold shifted in her sleep, suckling on her pacifier. "She's okay, thankfully."
"Who was the guy who dared try and harm my niece?" Zipacna growled from within his throat. "I'll tear him apart."
"… Him."
Silence.
"Víbora?" Zipacna recalled hearing that name. "The guy who tried to-?"
"Sí." Xibalba interrupted him before he could finish the sentence, his body becoming stiff.
"I thought you imprisoned him." The Candlemaker point out. "Did he escape or something?"
"No. I cast spells on his chains and his prison, it's impossible for him to escape from there without help." Xibalba sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for his shade."
"What are you going to do?" Zipacna inquired. "What if he comes back?"
"He won't for now." The Candlemaker said.
"Are you sure?"
"Knowing that serpent, he will wait until I let my guard down to strike. But that'll never happen." Xibalba growled softly, tightening his hold on his baby, looking down at Marigold as she hiccupped in her sleep. Normally, he would have laughed, but now was not the time. "As long as I live, I'll never let him touch a single hair on my daughter's hair."
"Then are you going to warn her about him when she grows-?"
"No!" Xibalba snapped at his brother and the Candlemaker, his eyes narrowing. "And you two are forbidden from ever mentioning this matter to her!"
"Come on, Balby! Don't you think it'll be safer if she can look out for that snake-?" The Candlemaker gulped when the dark god glared at him.
"She has nothing to do with this, and I'm not dragging her into it!"
"But-!"
"Good for me!" Zipacna lifted up his arms and subtly smacked the Candlemaker's arm with his wing. "We're not saying anything! Nos comió la lengua el ratón! Right, Candlemaker?"
"We're not." The deity made out of wax sighed, though he did not agree with this.
Satisfied, Xibalba returned his attention to his daughter. Marigold cooed and snuggled deeply into her father's embrace, completely oblivious to what they were talking about, still hiccupping. Xibalba finally allowed his lips to curve up into a small smile as he planted a kiss on Marigold's head, then tickled her chin.
"I promise you, mi florecita, I will never let anything happen to you."