By the time Marigold was four months into her pregnancy, Juan Carlos was certain something was definitely off.

Marigold would often spend time with her aunt, the both of them stating they wanted to make up for lost time. They'd often share a cup of tea and a few laughs, but Juan Carlos found it suspicious that Aimé insisted on always being the one to take the tea to the table, and using that sweetener of hers which he hadn't even tasted. In fact, it seemed that she only wanted Xibalba and Marigold to taste that so-called sweetener. And speaking of Xibalba, he had been acting strangely lately. Not long ago he despised Aimé with every fiber of his being and disliked the idea of being near her, while now he was polite and he might say even friendly with her. It just made no sense, no one could started to like a person they hated so much just out of sudden.

And Marigold was no better. The headaches had intensified, and now she had developed a bit of fever, and she was also getting weaker. It wasn't much, she simply would get some fainting spells every now and then, but her energy was draining for a reason no one could explain. Not even Toci was certain of what was going on, she assumed Marigold just needed to rest a bit. Finally, he decided to do something about it.

The Land of the Cursed was not very pleasant to visit. It mostly consisted of a cavernous landscape, much like the Land of the Forgotten, but rather than shades of grey it was illuminated in tones of red and orange. Rivers of lava flowed through the landscape, where the souls of the condemned would emerge from the magma and let out piercing screams before being dragged down once more. Others were chased around the place by monstrous three-headed dogs (Cerberuses, he once heard Zipacna say).

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the Candlemaker inquired, looking around nervously. "This is not the bottom floor for nothing, you know…"

"Maybe Zipacna could lend us a hand." Juan Carlos replied. "He doesn't trust Aimé."

"None of us do, but we can't just assume she is doing something to Marigoldie. They've been getting along wonderfully."

"And what about Xibalba? I just can't believe he started liking her out of sudden when he hated her a few months ago."

"I guess that does have sense…"

Juan Carlos knocked the massive doors to his uncle-in-law's castle, shivering when he heard the souls screaming. The castle reminded him of ancient medieval castles, but this one had macabre and grim look to it. Thankfully it wasn't long before the doors opened and a small imp peeked out his head, looking out at the visitor curiously. They usually had no visitors.

"Is your master home?" Juan Carlos inquired.

"Lord Zipacna is… a bit indisposed for the moment, but I can take you to young Camazok if you'd like."

"Anything if we can get away from…" the Candlemaker was staring at Zipacna's 'decorations', a pair of skeletons impaled on stakes staring pleadingly at them. "…those guys are giving me the willies…" the Book of Life shivered and hid behind the wax deity in agreement.

"Please follow me."

The two followed the imp through the halls of the castle, illuminated by torches and decorated by carpets of dragons and skeletons. Imps ran around doing chores such as mopping or dusting things. Still, there was a chaotic flair to it. It was clear Zipacna was not as organized as his younger brother. The imp led them to the library, which was, unlike most of the castle, organized impeccably, though soon they found why. Camazok was flying around placing books in the correct place, probably by genre and alphabetical order.

"Hey, Cam!" Juan Carlos called out for him.

Camazok yelped in surprise and nearly dropped all the books he was carrying, but managed to catch them in time. He flew down and placed them on one of the tables before flying over to the visitors. "Hey, guys!" he grinned.

"Camy, how have you been?" the Candlemaker laughed, patting the bat god's back rather abruptly, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"You know, working while Lord Zipacna takes his nap, but I have nothing to complain about." Camazok flinched at one scream coming from the outside. "Well, almost nothing. What brings you hre, by the way?"

"We were going to talk to Zipacna."

"He should be here in a few minutes, but what is it?"

"It's about Marigold and Xibalba." The Candlemaker stated. "Juanoctis thinks there's something fishy going on with Aimé."

"What?"

"I think we should wait for Zipacna, he has to hear this."

"Hear what?"

The three gods found Zipacna on the doorway, though judging by the bathrobe, puffy slippers and the disheveled feathers on his head he was just waking up. And it didn't seem like he cared if he was not precisely presentable at the moment.

"Could you close the door?" Juan Carlos requested him politely, trying his best not to laugh at how he looked.

Scratching his back, Zipacna stepped forward and closed the door shut with his tail, then looked at Juan Carlos with drowsy eyes.

"Have you noticed something strange ever since Aimé arrived?"

Zipacna thought for a moment. "Well, now that you mention it, my little brother is softening up with her for some reason."

"Maybe he's just being polite." Camazok suggested.

"With her? Kiddo, you don't know that woman. Xibalba couldn't see her picture."

Juan Carlos agreed. "Exactly. How come he's being so nice with her when he hated her not long ago? Don't you think it's weird?"

"I have to agree with Juanoctis on that one." Zipacna stated. Suddenly, a scream from the outside made the Candlemaker and Juan Carlos jump and embrace each other in fright. Zipacna muttered something under his breath and closed the windows with a snap of his fingers. "Damn it, one of these days I'm going to gag those souls!" he shifted his attention back to the other two. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"And Marigold! I'm worried for her and the baby! She was fine until she started to hang out with her!" Juan Carlos continued.

"What's wrong with Marigold?" Camazok asked with worry. He had been so busy he hadn't been able to visit his friends lately, but he did hear something about Marigold getting ill.

"She's been having migraines, she faints out of sudden and she's growing ill. It started when she started having that tea with Aimé."

"You're not saying…?" the Candlemaker connected the dots. "You think that sweetener has something to do with it?"

"Exactly. Don't you think it's suspicious she doesn't want anyone but Xibalba and Marigold to taste it? It's like she's hiding something."

"Are you implying she's…?"

"I'm not sure. I need proof, maybe I'm just confusing things."

"Boy, with that woman there's no thing such as confuse things." The Candlemaker commented.

"What do we do then?" Zipacna said with a growl. "We can't just cross our arms and do nothing!"

"First we gather the facts." Camazok suggested, thinking. "We should talk with people who know something, no matter what it is, any information could be important. Then we gather the facts."

"Who are we going to talk to?" Juan Carlos said. "It's not like we can just ask random people about it."

The Book of Life flapped its pages in front of the four gods, motioning them to come closer before opening up into blank pages. When they came closer, letters appeared on one of the pages, three names. Zipacna read them.

"Emilio and Regina? Clara?"

"Of course!" Juan Carlos remembered the maid who had grown nervous when he went to fetch a glass of water for his wife. "One of the servants told me Clara was one of the maids who tended to La Muerte when she got ill. She seemed concerned about Marigold's symptoms."

"Emilio and Regina could know something..." Zipacna stated. "They're always close to my brother, they could have seen something odd."

"Then it's settled. I'll talk to Clara." Juan Carlos concluded. "Camazok will talk to Emilio and Regina and Zipacna can look for something in the library."

At the word 'library', Zipacna gulped. "Hey, Juan… how about I talk with Aimé? I mean, you know I'm quite the ladies' man, if someone can get information out of a woman, that's me."

Juan Carlos had the feeling he just didn't want to be stuck in the library reading, but he chose not to argue with him. "Okay, in that case Camazok will do the research, you will talk to Aimé and the Candlemaker will talk to Regina and Emilio."

"Meeting adjourned!" Zipacna stated. "Now, if you guys will excuse me, I better get off this clothing." With his, he turned into a flock of crows and flew out of the library.

Xibalba didn't know why, but these days his feelings for Aimé were… changing.

At first he didn't want her close and told her to stay away, but now his anger and hate was starting to recede. He might even say he was starting to… like her? The dark god shook his head at the thought; he still refused to believe it. He couldn't like this woman who caused him so much trouble with his wife in the past, but then why was he being nicer to her? He just couldn't find it in his heart to treat her like she deserved anymore, and he was starting to worry about the child she was expecting. He still had his doubts that the child was his, but he was starting to not mind about it.

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. "Come in." he said, continuing with his paper work. The door creaked open and Aimé walked in, as always carrying a cup of her famous teas.

"Here, I brought you some tea." She said, placing it on his desk. Her abdomen had grown considerably, though she still would not feel her baby's movements until one more month approximately. "Just like you like it."

"Thank you." He said softly.

"Xibalba… I've been wanting to talk to you about something…"

"What is it?"

"It's something I want to discuss with you…" Aimé looked down at her abdomen and stroked it softly. "It's about our baby."

Xibalba wanted to snap at her that the brat was not his, but it just didn't come out. "What's with your baby?"

" Well… I still haven't thought of a name… and well, I was hoping we could pick a name together…"

"We don't even know if it's a boy or a girl. I think it should wait." Xibalba took a sip from the tea, and licked his lips with a small smile. "By the way, you should show me how you make that sweetener, my dear."

Aimé blushed. "I would, but it's a secret." She felt rather awkward about the conversation. "Well, I see you're busy, so I'll leave you be for now."

As she was about to leave the dark god's study, Xibalba called out for her. "Aimé." He froze when she turned to look at him.

"What is it?" she inquired curiously.

"I…" he didn't know how to say this. "I think we started with the wrong foot. Maybe Marigold was right and I did misjudge you a bit."

Her face brightened. "You mean it?"

"And I was thinking… Well, the women of the Sánchez family are organizing a baby shower for Marigold, and… I thought maybe you'd like to go."

"Of course! I'd never miss it!"

"I'll just finish up a few things and We'll go, okay?"

"Okay!"

Aimé rushed out of the study and, closing the door behind her, giggled with a blush. She was about to run down the hall to get dressed properly when she nearly bumped into a familiar figure. "Z-Zipacna."

"Hello, Aimé." The caiman-headed god greeted her, giving her a small bow. "You look pretty today."

"G-Gracias…" she replied with a bewildered, confused expression. She wasn't used of him being nice with her.

"I see you and my brother have grown… closer."

"Sort of. I'm glad he's finally realizing I mean no harm."

"Yes, I'm certain of it." Zipacna sighed. "I'm actually quite surprised, he is usually very stubborn, but he's apparently settled down for the moment." He grinned at her. "Aren't you using some sort of spell or him or something?" he inquired with a teasing tone.

"Oh, no." Aimé seemingly caught the bait, blushing. "I'm not very good at those. I guess he truly likes my teas. I heard you can win over a man by winning over his stomach."

He chuckled. "Sounds reasonable. Xibalba can be quite picky at times, but I see you managed to tame his stomach."

"I think so…" she giggled. "Excuse me, I'm going to get changed."

"Of course, my dear."

As Aimé walked down the hall, Zipacna shivered. Juan Carlos was right, definitely there was something fishy going on here. Just as Aimé disappeared down the corridor, the Candlemaker teleported next to the caiman god, letting out a sigh of relief. "That wasn't that hard. Man, Regina does have a nasty temper when you provoke her!"

"Did you find out anything?" Zipacna inquired.

"Well, according to Emilio Aimé always insists on bringing Xibalba's meals herself, especially those teas she makes. And Regina said she always uses that famous sweetener."

"Sounds like everything has to do with that sweetener. Perhaps we should take a little sample of it and take it to Itzamna."

"How? Who knows where Aimé keeps it!"

"It has to be somewhere in her room. We should wait until she and Xibalba go to Marigold's baby shower, then we go take a peek in her room and look for the bottle."

The Candlemaker gulped. "Wouldn't that be invasion of privacy?"

"Technically yes, but it's not like anyone will know right? Besides…" Zipacna shivered in delight. "Maybe she was pretty underwear-OW!" he yelped when the Book of Life smacked his nape. "What?!"

The dining hall was more colorful and lively than usual, decorated in the manner of a baby shower. Blue and lavender paper pom-poms hanging from the ceiling, cake stands with cupcakes adorned with blue meringue and pacifier or baby bottle candy buttons, paperbag flowers, as well as a big letter banner that read 'Baby incoming!'. There was also a large colorful cake with a baby stroller cake toper, decorated cookies and many other baby-related decorations. Marigold was accompanied by female spirits, the closest being the women of the Sánchez family, and they were in the middle of opening gifts. Marigold was just opening one coming from Adelita and Scardelita, and inside found two pairs of booties, one blue with skull patterns, the other pink with flowers.

"Oh, girls! It's beautiful!" Marigold laughed in delight, looking down at the booties as she lifted them.

"I wanted to bring only the blue ones, but Adelita wanted to bring the pink ones." Scardelita explained.

"So we thought we'd bring you both colors." Adelita continued.

"In case you get either gender you won't have to worry about changing color!"

Giggling, Marigold gently placed the booties aside the other gifts, such as a hand-made tummy time toy from a toy maker (whose wife had brought), onesies and washcloths rolled into flowers and made into a flower arrangement by a florist, a nursing cushion and pajamas, caps, sleep gowns and leggings from various other spirits and maids. And there were still many that had to be opened.

Juan Carlos walked into the dining hall and saw all the gifts, treats and decorations. Chuckling in delight, he walked closer to the dining table where everyone was gathered. "Mari!"

Marigold looked up at her husband with a smile. "Hey, Juan! Where were you? You have to see this!"

"Sorry, Marigold, but you know baby showers are not suitable for men." Carmen giggled, winking.

Juan Carlos shook his head with a grin, before glancing around the room in search of a certain maid. He found there among the yet-to-be-opened presents, handing Carmen another one. "Clara, may I have a word with you?"

The maid seemed uncertain, but she nodded after handing the gift box to Carmen. Following Juan Carlos outside the dining room, she didn't say anything as he led her towards the kitchen, empty for the moment.

"Clara, I need to ask you something." Juan Carlos said with a serious expression. "The other day, when I came down for a glass of water you asked me what was wrong with Marigold and you grew worried when I mentioned what she was having. Why?"

"I…" Clara looked down uncertainly. "Lord Xibalba forbad us to-"

"I know that, but he's not here, so don't worry. And it's very important, I need to know. Do Marigold's symptoms have anything to do with La Muerte?"

Finally, the servant relented. "Well… I guess Eva told you I was one of the maids who looked after Lady La Muerte when she grew ill."

"Yes."

"I was there when the first symptoms appeared. It started just like Princes Marigold. La Muerte first developed migraines that came out of nowhere, then it escalated into fainting spells. At first we thought she was just having the first symptoms of pregnancy, she was expecting Marigold at the time, but then she started to grow weak. At first it was nothing, then came the fever, the nausea, eventually she couldn't leave bed anymore." Clara's voice was full of sadness and regret. "Lord Xibalba was very worried. He called for the best doctors and physicians in the realms, even Lady Toci and Lord Itzamna, but not even they could determine what was wrong with her."

"You mean to tell me… Marigold might have caught the same sickness?"

"I'm afraid so…"

"Wait a minute…" Juan Carlos started to think. "When exactly did La Muerte start to fall ill? Did she drink something? Or eat anything that could have caused it?"

"I don't think so, all the food comes from honest farmers who live in the outskirts of the Land of the Remembered, and the same applies for the wines and drinks…"

"Think! It's very important! Marigold could be consuming the same thing that made La Muerte fall ill!"

Clara looked down thoroughly, scanning her brain for anything she could have missed. A bell rang. "I remember something… La Muerte received an anonymous gift. A pack of teas, all the note said that was that it would do good for the baby. La Muerte tasted one pack, and found it so delicious and sweet she thought it wouldn't do bad to drink it."

A package of tea…?

"Clara!" Just then, another maid ran into the kitchen. "We need your help! Lord Xibalba and mis Aimé are here, and he brought a lot of gifts, but he won't be able to carry them for long!"

When the two maids left the kitchen in a hurry, Juan Carlos stayed behind, thinking. La Muerte fell ill after drinking that tea, and now that Marigold started having tea with her aunt she started to fall ill?

It couldn't be a coincidence.