"Mateo? Cariño? You need to get up. We have to go! Now!" Rafa shook her young son's shoulder.

Mateo groaned sleepily as he began to wake at the sound of his mother's urgent whisper.

Rubbing his eyes, he said sleepily, "Mami? Wha–"

"There's no time to explain. Get dressed, papi says we must leave."

Recognizing the urgency in her voice, Mateo kept quiet as he struggled into a seated position and hurried to do as he was told. As his mother rummaged through his wardrobe, tossing a few bits of clothing into a bag, he quickly swapped his comfortable pajama top and bottom for his dark pants and green vest.

As he reached past his mother into the wardrobe for a necktie, she said brusquely, "There's no time for that. Get your boots on. We must go. Come." She handed him the bag and gestured for him to follow as she rushed from the room. A mix of sleepiness and confusion threatened to overwhelm the eight year old boy as he blindly followed his mother's orders.

Why were they leaving? It was the middle of the night! What could cause his mother to look so scared? She was one of the bravest people he knew.

As they hurried down the stairs, Mateo could see his father looking anxiously up at them. "Vámanos!" he hissed between clenched teeth, "Hurry!"

Together, the little family ran through the house, Nicolàs in the lead followed closely by Rafa who pulled Mateo along by the hand as he tried to keep up. Nicolàs reached the front door and wrenched it open, beckoning to his wife and son to follow. He felt his blood turn to ice as the sounds of galloping hoofsteps approaching reached his ears. They were too close–– there was no way they could outrun a guard squad on horseback.

Mateo, curious, looked between his parents as they exchanged a panicked look. His father nodded briskly and his mother opened the door again and shoved the little boy inside, hissing, "You must stay put! No matter what happens, stay here until I say it's safe."

"But–– why––" he started, his eyes wide with fear and bewilderment.

"This is not the time for questions. Stay here!"she pulled the door shut, leaving the little boy standing alone and utterly confused in the dark.

–––––

Taking a deep, calming breath, Rafa turned from the door and reached for Nicolás' hand as she put on her most stoic face. Rafa had known this day was coming for years. Yes, she had hoped that her Nicolás' involvement with the uprising would be successful–– that they would one day restore light to Avalor, but she had also lived in fear of the wrong person finding out about her husband's double life as an illegal sorcerer rebel.

Most magic wielders had fled the kingdom long ago, but Nicolás hadn't come into his power until he was ten. The gift had skipped his father's generation, so his parents had hoped the gift was dying out and would skip their son too. Nicolás had been a clever child and knew that he must keep his gift a secret, so he had spent twenty five years secretly learning about his powers and how to use them.

Not wanting to hide such an important part of himself from the woman he loved, he had revealed his secret to Rafa before they were married. She, having come from a long line of powerful Avaloran wizards, understood the importance of his gift and agreed to help him keep it a secret. They had talked about leaving Avalor for a kingdom that was friendly to magic, like Córdoba or perhaps even a kingdom on the eastern continent, until her own mother had revealed Alakazar's mission and the reason he had disappeared so many years ago. Both she and Nicolás decided to stay in hopes of seeing the lost princess returned and the usurper defeated. Hopeful as she was, she'd encouraged Nicolás to join the rebels when the opportunity presented itself shortly after Mateo's birth. They both dreamed of a time when their son could claim his heritage and the legacy of magic left to him, but agreed to keep all hints of magic and rebellion a secret from their son–– for his own safety–– until he came into his power–– if he ever came into his power. They'd told him stories about his grandfather, the royal wizard, but nothing about the other half of the magical legacy flowing through his veins.

The couple stood outside the courtyard gate entrance to their home, watching as a squad of guards approached on horseback. Nicolás squeezed Rafa's hand and, eyes shining with tears, leaned in to brush a kiss against her lips. He whispered in her ear, "Just know that whatever happens next, I love you and our son with all of my heart. Don't believe a word I say. You must be angry, hurt and shocked when my crimes are revealed–– to protect yourself. And our son. You know nothing of my treachery to the queen. Do you understand?"

She looked long into his eyes, her own eyes shimmering with unshed tears, and nodded. "Yes, I understand," she whispered hoarsely.

"I love you."

"And I you."

–––––

Mateo watched through a window as his parents stood in the gateway entrance to their courtyard. He couldn't understand what was going on, or why he was shut in the house while they stood out there.

And then the guards appeared. His breath caught in his throat as they dismounted their horses and surrounded his parents.

What was going on?

They looked angry. He knew that people disappeared occasionally by order of the queen, but he'd never imagined it happening to his own family. He saw a guard grab his father's arm and his mother cover her mouth in shock. He thought she was shouting something at his father. She looked really upset too.

He had to do something! He couldn't just stand there while his family was taken away. This had to be a mistake!

Fumbling with the door, he flung it open and ran to his parents' aid, shouting, "PAPI! MAMI!"

All eyes turned to the eight year old boy sprinting across the courtyard, eyes flashing with anger as he glared at the guards holding his father captive.

"MATEO!" Rafa shouted, hands over her mouth and her eyes wide with renewed fear for her son's safety, "No! I told you to stay inside!"

The guards watched the small boy, a speculative look in their eye as he ran towards them, still shouting, "LET MY PAPI GO!"

The guards holding Nicolás exchanged a look as the leader of the group barked to another guard who had his hands free, "Take the boy too, it runs in the blood."

"NO!" both Rafa and Nicolás shouted in unison. Rafa ran forward to grab Mateo around the shoulders and hug him to her. The guard approached and said in a low, menacing voice, "Hand over the boy, woman, or your fate will be the same as theirs."

"Never." she said fiercely, staring the guard down angrily, all fear gone from her eyes as she positioned herself between Mateo and the guard, fists clenched in anger and ready to fight, "He's done nothing! Leave him alone!"

The guard grabbed Rafa by the shoulders and she let out a cry as he shoved her to the ground.

"Mami!" Mateo cried out as his more hit the ground, "Leave her alone!" He ran forward to help his mother but was grabbed around the middle by the guard and hauled up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Mateo kicked and flailed, making it exceptionally difficult for the guard to keep a hold on him as he shouted, "Let me go!"

"Stop!" Nicolás shouted with authority. "Stop!" All eyes turned to the sorcerer as he said darkly, "There is no need to take the boy."

The leader scoffed, "And why is that? You know the law."

Nicolás took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he steeled himself for what he was about to say, "Because that is not my son. He's an illegitimate bastard child with nothing to his name." His face had become cold as flint–– his eyes hard and unfeeling–– there was not a hint of the loving papi that Mateo had thought he'd known remaining.

Rafa gasped a breath as she shared a long look with her husband and understood–– she nodded.

Mateo felt as if the air had been knocked from him as he stared open mouthed at this man who he had called "papi" his entire life. He felt as if his world had been turned upside down, this man had called him a–– no! It couldn't be true! Could it?

The guard leader leered at Rafa in a way that made Nicolás grit his teeth with anger, and proceeded to run an assessing eye over Nicolás and nodded. "Release the boy. Let's go."

The guard holding Mateo dropped him unceremoniously next to his mother and stalked off after his companions as they hauled Nicolás up onto a horse and bound his wrists to the saddle.

Rafa pulled herself to her feet and helped Mateo up as she stared after the retreating form of her husband and the squad guards. The day she had feared for so long had finally arrived. Her husband was gone–– taken by the queen for who knew what dark purpose. The rebellion had been wiped out, her hope for a better day had been crushed. She was alone–– with a son to raise. She would protect her son, she would hide the truth of his father's identity at all costs. Even if that meant that he had to believe that abomination of a lie. She knew that if Nicolás' gift had been passed on to their son, she would have to tell Mateo the truth eventually, but that possibility was still years away. In the meantime, she knew what must be done. She would raise him to love the old ways and would teach him everything he needed to know to grow up to be an honorable young man that both she and Nicolás would be proud of–– a young man capable of making the world a better place.

Mateo stared unseeingly down the road as his–– he swallowed hard as he thought the word "father". Should he still refer to that man as his father? Did he have a real father out there somewhere? The young boy's world had been completely turned upside down in the course of an hour. He didn't know what to think. He felt the loss of a father, betrayal by the man who he'd called "papi" his entire life, and an irrational sense of failure for not having been able to stop what had happened. He didn't know what he could have done, small and skinny as he was, but he should have been able to do–– something! Anything!

Mateo turned and hugged his mother, burying his face in her dress. Confused and sad though he was, he was determined to try to be strong–– for her.