Ever since he heard the exciting news from his mother, Zipacna was beyond happy. He'd have a little brother or sister to play with, though deep down he hoped he would get a brother so they could play tug of war and lots of other boyish games. Akrinok was indifferent to the news; as long as he got a suitable male heir, he was fine with it, but under no circumstances would he accept a girl. The good thing of the pregnancy was that the dragon stayed away from his wife so she would have no complications during the term.

Zipacna would follow his mother around; he wanted to be near her and his upcoming sibling as much as possible. The three year old godling would often talk to Selena's growing baby bump as months went by, and he even felt his little kicks.

"Say hi to your baby brother or sister." Selena would say, placing his hand on her belly, wait for a kick, then hug him tightly.

Then came the day when finally the little one came into the world: a boy. Xibalba.

Akrinok was… satisfied. He thought his younger son was a better choice to be his heir. But other than this, he displayed little to no affection at all for the newborn. And now that the child was out of his wife's body, he had 'needs' that needed to be satisfied.

Still, a little but tightly-knit circle of affection and love was born between Zipacna, his baby brother, and Selena. Little Xibalba was very cute. Zipacna would often sit next to his cradle and try to peek inside, shaking a small snake plush to play with him. But all Xibalba seemed to care about was eating and sleeping.

"When can I play with him, mami?" Zipacna asked his mother one night as she nursed his baby brother.

"He's still too young to play, mi niño…" Selena replied, carefully accommodating her child as he suckled from her breast. "I promise you, in a few months you will be able to play a bit with him."

"Does he like me?"

"Why wouldn't he like you, Zippy? You're his big brother."

"But papa doesn't like me…"

Selena pulled her son closer and planted a kiss on his head. "Aww, don't worry, mi niño. I'm sure Xibalba will like you when he grows up, and you're going to play all day."

Zipacna leaned in closer to his little brother when he stopped nursing. Xibalba looked up at him curiously, and giggled as he reached out to touch his nose. Zipacna smiled in delight.

"Hola, hermanito." The godling said, playing with Xibalba's fingers. "I'm going to take good care of you. I promise…"

Marigold fidgeted with her rattle as her father brushed her hair. He had dressed her in her best clothing, and now was fixing her locks. She didn't understand why he was being so fussy, she simply limited herself to suckle on her rattle, cooing and gurgling. When he was done with his daughter's hair, Xibalba attached her little pink hair bow to one of her many locks of dark waves, and then picked her up.

"Come on, sweetie. There's something I want to show you today. A very special place."

Marigold had no idea what her father was talking about, she simply let out giggles as her father tickled her nose and walked out of his room, carrying her in his arms. He walked down the corridors of his dark castle, going up stairs towards the upper levels, until he came to a long corridor that led to a stone door with swirly carvings. Once they were in front of it, Xibalba accommodated his daughter in one arm to place his other hand on the door, muttering a spell under his breath. The carvings glowed a more pleasant shade of green than that of the rest of the castle's sickly green tones, and the doors parted, allowing the dark god to slide inside, going up another small flight of stairs.

Marigold widened her eyes in awe when she saw the beautiful garden before her, everything was alive, unlike most of the realm, the beautiful flowers and plants all colorful and healthy-looking. It was not dark, it felt like there was sunlight in here, even though she could not see the sky; a large jacaranda tree was rooted in the middle of the garden, and a wooden bench lay underneath its shade. The sight was so beautiful that Marigold giggled in delight.

"Like it?" Xibalba inquired with a smile, brushing a stray lock of hair from his baby's face. "It's was your abuela's. She used to bring papi here when he was your age…" his smile slowly faltered and his expression grew nostalgic. "Papi loved her very much…"

Marigold was too busy looking all around her at the contrasting bright colors to understand what he was saying, but she could tell her father was becoming sad, and tried to cheer him up with a peek-a-boo. Xibalba chuckled and made his way towards the jacaranda, pulling his daughter closer to his chest and planting a small kiss on her head; he sat down on the bench beneath the tree, and watched as Marigold looked at the flowers on the branches of the tree, giggling and reaching out her chubby hands for them.

"The flowers this year are beautiful, aren't they?" Xibalba whispered, glancing around at the flowers, and spotted a single flower that was still a bud. "Look at that one." He shifted his daughter in his arms so that she could see it. "It still hasn't blossomed, but when it does, it'll be the most beautiful of all." Xibalba plucked a small flower from the branches, and held it out for his baby, smiling when she gurgled in delight and grabbed it. Marigold touched the flower curiously, even going as far as to nibble on a petal.

Xibalba felt a new presence on the garden, but he didn't need to look up to know who had come in.

"I figured I'd find you here today…" Zipacna said gently, shifting his bat wings as he looked around. "It brings so many memories…"

"It does…" Xibalba sighed, pulling his baby closer as she continued to fidget with the flower.

Zipacna made his way to the bench and sat down next to his younger brother, glancing up at the jacaranda. "Remember how mamá used to bring us here?"

"How could I ever forget? Those were the only good moments I had as a child, everything else is not worth remembering."

"I know…"

"Sometimes she'd make us our favorite desserts for our birthdays, remember?"

"I do. I've tasted that dessert thousands of times during the time I was away, but they never tasted the same as the ones mamá used to make."

"Because mamá poured her heart and soul into them." Xibalba couldn't help but smile a bit. "I still remember the last time she made one…"

"Your eighth birthday, remember?"

"Those were the only days Father left the three of us alone."

At the mention of Akrinok , Zipacna stiffened. "At least he acknowledged you as his son."

"At what price?" Xibalba didn't like the tone his brother was using. "I know that it was your birthright, you should have been crowned as King, not me, but I did not choose it! If I had been given a choice I would have let you keep the crown!"

"It's not about that, hermanito… I couldn't have cared less about the crown… It's just… Why didn't Father ever take me into account?"

Xibalba knew where this was going. "Brother…"

"I could tell it ever since the first moment I came into the world, and he set his eyes on me. He didn't want me, he never acknowledged me, and when he did it was to push me away or punish me. I did everything to win his affection or at least his approval…" the older god's eyes were swelling up with tears. "But it seemed as if he actually liked to make me suffer, make me cry, destroy my life!"

Zipacna stiffened and the little feathers he had bristled as he did his best to contain his tears. That dragon didn't deserve his tears. But it didn't mean it didn't hurt, thinking about it. Akrinok always had his back turned on him when all he had tried to do was to please him, but no, nothing he did was enough for him. Zipacna still remembered the way he'd always run to his mother's embrace in tears after being rejected. Then Xibalba was born. Though Akrinok didn't show favoritism and was as cruel with his younger son as he was with Zipacna, he did acknowledge that Xibalba was his son. As soon as he could walk Akrinok would take him aside to train him to become his successor, but he was too demanding and stern. Zipacna had heard his father's yells as he scolded his little brother, calling him 'useless' and 'weak', he had seen him run to their mother's embrace in tears, looking for comfort.

"You know... Sometimes I wonder how our lives would have been if mother had not died…" Xibalba decided to change the subject.

"Much better. If father had died sooner, it would have been better." Zipacna retorted.

"Boys."

The two gods looked at the entryway of the garden, and saw Regina standing there with a melancholy expression, and a pinch of regret. She approached both gods, taking a deep breath. "Zipacna…"

"What is it?" the caiman-headed entity inquired, raising his ears. There was something in her tone that he didn't like.

"There's something you must know. It's of utter important that I tell you everything."

"What are you talking about?" Xibalba said, pulling his daughter closer. Marigold squealed in surprise, and pulled on her father's beard to call his attention.

"There was a reason for Akrinok to treat you like he treated you." Regina was hesitating to speak. "Lady Selena asked me to tell you about it when you were old enough."

Zipacna had a bad feeling. "W-What is it?"

"Akrinok… he…" she stopped in mid-sentence.

"What?"

"He…"

"Speak up, mujer!" he finally snapped.

"He thought you were not his son!"

Silence.

Xibalba gasped in utter shock and disbelief, unknowingly his grip on his daughter tightened. He glanced at his brother to see his reaction. Zipacna had frozen. His eyes were open wide like plates, his pupils had shrunk as he stood up from the bench, looking down at Regina with a pleading expression, as if begging her to say she was joking, but her expression said otherwise. Soon his shock turned into anger.

"What do you mean?" he hissed, his pupils turning into slits. "… That I am not Akrinok's son?"

"I never said you weren't…" Regina stood back, frightened by Zipacna's tone of voice. "I said he thought you weren't."

Now it was Xibalba's turn to grow angry. "Are you implying Mother…?!" He refused to believe his beloved mother had… He couldn't even think about it.

"No!" Regina snapped. "I knew Lady Selena! I was her friend, and she was mine! She was a saint! She would have never stooped that low, even though she had every reason to!" she managed to calm down, and the following silence prompted her to continue. "You saw how Lord Akrinok treated her. He only used her to entertain himself, and when he couldn't use her he debauched with whomever he could find. Even though Akrinok was unfaithful to her in many occasions, your mother was too afraid of him to even think of dishonoring such a cruel god…"

Xibalba's frown softened, but Zipacna still didn't understand. "If mamá was never…" he looked down, confused. "If she never dishonored him, then why…?"

"Not even your mother understood the reason. The night you were born, when Akrinok first came to see you…"

A baby cry echoed through the Land of the Forgotten.

"He's a boy!"

Selena, despite her tears and agonizing pain, managed to look up at Regina as she held her wailing newborn baby boy in her arms, patting him dry with a towel and then wrapping him in a blanket. Selena shifted in bed so that she was resting her back against her pillows to hold her baby as he was handed over to him. He was beautiful. He had the head of a croc or caimán, with two feathery ears and even a tiny tuft of feathers on his head. Two bat wings were tucked inside the blankets, though he didn't seem o mind. The child let out a yawn, exposing his toothless gums and pink tongue, and opened his eyes lightly, revealing different shades of green around a single slit black pupil. As soon as he saw his mother, he gave her a toothless smile.

"Hola, mi pequeñín…" Selena smiled at her child, kissing his forehead, stroking the tiny feathers from his head. "Soy mamá." At the sound of her voice, the baby wiggled and let out gurgles that she interpreted as giggles.

Soon the ground started to tremble. Selena glanced at the doors, pulling her child closer to her chest, trembling internally when Akrinok crossed the door and entered the room, approaching bed. "Is that our firstborn?" he inquired coldly.

"Yes." Selena momentarily forgot about Akrinok's presence as she looked down at her child once more, wrapping his blanket tightly around him. "His name is Zipacna."

Akrinok continued to look at the child, examining him like it was a piece of art. He was about to speak when Zipacna opened his eyes, and looked up at his father curiously.

As soon as Akrinok saw into the child's eyes, a wave of shock and disbelief came across his face, and it didn't vanish even when little Zipacna smiled at him, trying to make him happy. Soon the shock turned into anger as he glared at his wife.

"You…"

Selena knew that tone. She pulled her baby closer protectively, just as the little one started to sob his fright. Akrinok stomped closer to her, spreading out his wings threateningly.

"Who's the father of this…" he looked down at the child with disdain. "Disgrace?"

She could not believe what she was hearing. "What are you saying…?"

"Who did you betray me with?!"

"How can you say that?! Zipacna is your son!" Selena started to tremble when Akrinok's glare changed to her once more.

"You… You're so lucky you just have birth, otherwise I would have already torn you to pieces for your treachery!"

Zipacna sobbed and wiggled in his mother's arms as he heard his father barking insults at her, and started to cry when Akrinok glared at him with all the hatred he could muster.

"That… thing is no son of mine."

Zipacna was staring down at Regina with wide eyes full of shock and bewilderment. They were glistening. Xibalba had never seen his brother like that, he had always been the cheery one, he could get mad at times, but he never cried. Or at least he had never seen him cry. "Brother…" Before he could say anything else, Zipacna had turned into a flock of crows and teleported out of the garden, flying down the corridor.

"Zipacna!" Xibalba was about to go after him when Marigold wiggled in his embrace, sobbing as she reached down trying to reach the flower that fell from her grasp. Xibalba sighed and picked the flower, giving it back to his baby, smiling lightly when she grabbed it and her little fingers started to touch its petals once more.

He guessed Zipacna wanted to be alone for now.

How right he was.

Xibalba grew worried when he had no news from Zipacna for a while after that day. But the Land of the Forgotten (and seven other realms) got earthquakes soon after what happened, it was no mystery what caused them. After all, the Land of the Cursed was the bottom floor. Xibalba wanted to go and see how his brother was doing, and yet something told him that the older god wanted to be alone, he needed to take out all his anger, frustration and pain.

So, he waited.

Lately, Marigold had been parroting the word 'mama' nonstop, it broke his heart. He knew what she wanted, she was saying she wanted to see her mamá; she was finally taking notice of her absence. He tried his best to distract her so she wouldn't notice La Muerte's absence that much, he'd had hung one of his favorite pictures of his beloved wife on her mobile so Marigold would feel that her mother was watching over her, he had commissioned her mobile to play the little tune La Muerte used to hum to their baby when she was pregnant, and yet Marigold still continued to parrot 'mama'.

"Look, sweetie." The dark god cooed, showing his daughter a pair of pink hand-made booties. "Mami made these for you when you were inside her tummy. Like them?"

"Mama." Marigold gurgled, reaching out to touch the two little shoes curiously.

Chuckling, Xibalba slid the booties into his daughter's feet, before picking her up and holding her close. "I know you miss your mamá, sweetie. I miss mine too." He reached out for his bedside table and grabbed a picture frame, just next to the one with La Muerte's photograph. This one was of Selena, however; in it she was in the garden, picking up some flowers from a bush. Xibalba showed it to Marigold. "This is my mama. She's your abuela."

Marigold stared at the picture curiously, even tilting her head to the side in confusion. "Mama?" she had seen pictures of her mother, that was not her. She guessed what her father had meant to say.

"It's papi's mama. She died when I was a child too. And I miss her. You would have loved her, mi florecita, she was truly a wonderful woman."

"Indeed, she was."

Xibalba was startled when he heard his brother's voice, and even more when he looked up and saw the state he was in. Zipacna looked terrible, his cloak was torn, his claws looked red, like he had hurt himself somehow, his head feathers were a mess and his eyes were bloodshot, almost as if he had cried for hours. "Brother, you look terrible."

Zipacna chuckled grimly. "Haven't taken a good grooming for a few days."

Xibalba placed Selena's picture back on his bedside table and stood up, heading over to his daughter's bassinet, tucking her in so he could talk with his brother. "By the way, I received complaints from some of the others because of the earthquakes."

Zipacna drooped his ears in embarrassment. "Sorry about that, I guess I overdid it a bit."

"A bit? You caused earthquakes in seven realms."

"I guess so… I do live in the bottom floor, after all."

"What happened, Zipacna? I was worried you would do something stupid."

"Come on, hermanito. I'm not that reckless."

"But I had never seen you like this. Did Regina's words affect you that much?"

Again, Zipacna chuckled bitterly. "About me probably not being Akrinok's offspring? It's not that I care what that overgrown lizard thought of me anymore." His voice became forlorn once more. "It's just that… It still doesn't mean it didn't hurt."

"I know… I mean, I can't believe Father accused mamá of such a thing."

"Me either. I don't know what he saw in me that he thought I was not his, but I just can't believe he had to go and pin the blame on mamá. Even Regina said so, she was too afraid of father to even think about it."

"Even if she wasn't, mamá would have never done it. That's not like her."

"I wish she had not died." Zipacna finally sighed. "The worst thing is that we don't even know how she died. Father just said she got ill, but… Didn't you ever have the feeling that he was lying?"

"Sometimes." Xibaba sighed, looking over at Marigold's cradle. "I wish mamá would have gotten to meet Marigold. I bet she would have been a wonderful abuela."

"Me too. Maybe I wouldn't have left if she hadn't died… I missed her very much during that time…" Zipacna's voice started to shake, as his eyes swelled up with tears. "La extraño…"

Xibalba had the feeling of what would happen next. He felt awkward doing this, but the dark god still walked closer to his older brother and pulled him closer into a hug; it wasn't long before Zipacna returned the embrace as he started to sob, tears trickling down his snout, nearly crushing his younger sibling in his embrace. Xibalba patted his back and spoke soothing words to him; soon he had his own tears rolling down his cheeks.

As the brothers wept together for the first time in ages, Marigold was gurgling and waving her arms towards an ethereal lady with sparkling dark hair and green eyes who was smiling down at her, brushing a small tuft away from the baby's face before glancing over at the two weeping gods. Selena smiled sadly at her sons before she disappeared.