Lullaby

The thunders roared and the winds howled as the ash and snow blizzard raged outside Xibalba's castle. While he usually had complete control over his realm, he could not control these random outbursts of ash that occurred every now and then. Wherever he saw the first signs, he ordered his servants to close every single window and door shut. The Forgotten had to find shelter wherever they could, or those who didn't were blown away by the wind. These ash storms were the main reason La Muerte didn't like his realm very much when she was alive, this stemmed from her natural fear of lighting.

Xibalba could recall when they were children and they often snuck out to the Land of the Living; when the foul weather caught them by surprise, La Muerte would try to find refuge in his arms wherever a thunder or a lighting pierced the sky, and he'd comfort her and wrap his wings around her to make her feel safe. This fear of lighting accompanied her even when they grew up, and she'd still try to shelter herself in his arms and wings every time there was a storm.

Unfortunately, it seemed that she passed on this phobia to their baby, and he found out the bad way during Marigold's first blizzard.

Baby cries echoed within the dark halls of the castle every time the thunders unleashed their fury upon the Land of the Forgotten, coming from Xibalba's chambers; the window was closed shut and the curtains were closed, but the clashing of thunder could still be heard loudly. Xibalba held his wailing daughter in his arms, cocooning her further into her little blanket, bouncing her lightly to make her know he was holding her.

"Sh-sh-sh-sh." The dark god shushed as he shifted Marigold in his arms a bit more. "Esta bien, mi florecita. Aquí estoy." But it was no use, the thunders were too loud. And just then, there was a knock on the door.

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

"Come in!" Xibalba yelled over the sound of thunder and the cried of his baby.

One of the doors opened and one of his servants peeked his head in; he knew better than to disturb his master for too long under these… circumstances. "My Lord, all the windows and the doors have been closed shut!"

"Good!" Xibalba retorted, hiding his daughter from view with his wing. "Then go and hide with everyone else!"

"Yes, My Lord!" With these last words, the skeleton closed the doors and his running footsteps echoed in the halls.

As much as Xibalba hated to admit it, his servants were the closest thing he had similar to the souls of the Remembered, with their own personalities and all. Being in charge of lost souls who did nothing but weep and sigh for their fatal luck all day, he was thankful the lizard skeletons that served him were not like that. One could even say he was attached to them to some extent; not that he told anyone of this, however.

When the lizard was gone, Xibalba snapped his fingers, and the lock of the doors was set. Then he went back to try and soothe his daughter down.

"Shhhhh. Por favor, no llores, mi pequeñita. Me duele verte llorar."

Momentarily, Marigold's crying diminished into sniffles, but when yet another thunder roared, Marigold started wailing once again. Xibalba realized he would have to stray her attention away from the thunders to calm her down. But what could he do? For the moment, the only thing he thought of was going to his bed and sit down for the moment. The dark god glided to the side of his bed and took seat, his back resting against the dark pillows; he wrapped his wings around himself and his daughter to form a sort of protective 'shield' from the lighting, like he used to do with La Muerte. However, it seemed like this wouldn't work as easily with his daughter.

What could he do…?

"A lullaby!" Xibalba concluded. "Is that what you want?"

Marigold's wailing lowered into sobs for a few moments, but once again turned back into crying when the thunders roared and lightings clapped. Great, now he was in a bigger predicament; singing had never been his forte, he always limited himself to simply listening to music. However, for his daughter he was willing to try.

But now there was another question; what could he sing to her? He didn't know that man lullabies, and it had to be one that his deep voice could handle, otherwise it would startle Marigold even further.

Maybe…

There was one song he remembered. It had been La Muerte' favorite song, and she would often sing it to him when they were on a date; she had sung it the day they got married, actually. She had even sung it to Marigold when she was pregnant with her. Yes, maybe it would work.

Holding Marigold close to his chest, Xibalba started to sing.

'Te amo y más de lo que puedes imaginar

Te amo además como nunca nadie jamás lo hará'

He proceeded to wipe away his daughter's tears with his thumbs.

'En esta canción, va mi corazón

amor más que amor es el nuestro y te lo vengo a dar.

The lullaby was apparently having its intended effect; little Marigold sniffled and looked up at her father with glossy eyes. She knew that song. Xibalba delicately tickled her nose, making her gurgle.

'Te miro y más y más y mas te quiero mirar

Te amo y sabras puro sentimiento y no hay nada más

Y sueño llegar a tu alma tocar

Amor más que amor es el nuestro y te lo vengo a dar'

Marigold wrapped her little wingers around Xibalba's index finger and held it tightly, purring gingerly.

'Ruego a Dios tenerte a mi lado

y entonces poderte abrazar

si no estás aquí algo falta

Yo por ti pelearé hasta el final

Xibalba smiled a little when Marigold's eyes started to shutter and she let out a small yawn.

'Y sueño llegar a tu alma tocar

Amor mas que amor es el nuestro y te lo vengo a dar. '

Marigold lay her head against her father's chest and snuggled deeply into his embrace, the sound of his heartbeat muffling the thunder.

'Te amo y mas

Te amo y sabras que nadie como yo te amará

En esta canción yo veo quien soy

Xibalba planted a kiss on his daughter's cheek.

'Amor mas que amor es mio y lo siento

Amor mas que amo es el tuyo y presiento

Amor mas que amor sera el nuestro si tu me lo das.'

When he was done, Marigold was fast asleep, still holding into his finger tightly, wanting to make sure her father was still there. Xibalba smiled lightly when he watched her sleep, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. The song had brought him memories of La Muerte, and wondered if she would have been proud of him for managing to calm their child during a blizzard. Another thunder pierced the sky, but Marigold simply shifted a bit before relaxing again; she felt safe in her father's embrace, she had nothing to fear.

Xibalba carefully lay hi daughter on bed, a few inches away from him, not enough to suffocate her, but enough to hold her close. He lay down on bed as well, embracing his baby with a wing and placing a hand upon her fragile little body.

He soon joined her in the world of dreams.