A Tale of Forbidden Love and Rituals

Chapter 10- Heartbreak

Marigold went to see the Candlemaker a day later to have a talk with him. She was in a very good mood for her time with Juan Carlos; everything was going perfectly, one day had passed since her wager with her father, if things went on like this for one more day she and Juan Carlos would be able to keep seeing each other and she wouldn't have to worry about her father any longer. She knew she had to tell Juan Carlos the truth sooner or later, but she needed to ask something to the Candlemaker first.

"You want to what?!" the Candlemaker had cried out in bewilderment.

"If the thing between me and Juan Carlos works, and he were to ask me the Question, I' like to say yes." Marigold explained. "But judging by your reaction, it's against the Ancient Rules, right?" she sighed at the last part.

"Not only that, Marigoldie! A god and a human cannot hang out in that way… Sure, death gods can bend these rules a little to make deals with humans, but only to some extent. And you say you wagered with Xibalba about it?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't know what he was thinking. He perfectly knows that even if you win, he can't let you just start a family with Juan Carlos Sánchez. At least not until he kicks the bucket, and you know."

"I don't get it, Candlemaker! Why does everyone make such a fuss about the Ancient Rules?!" Marigold finally cried out in exasperation. "We're not committing a capital sin, we're trying to be more than friends!"

"You are committing a grave fault, you know that?" The Candlemaker stated nervously, and the Book of Life nodded quickly. "You don't take the Ancient Rules seriously because you're young, that's understandable, but it doesn't mean you should ignore them. You don't know what happened to those who dared to break them."

She didn't like this tone. "What happened to them?"

"All I will tell you is that the Greek gods broke about three dozen rules, and well, there are traces left of them."

"But isn't there a way that Juan Carlos and I can love each other without breaking the Ancient Rules?"

The Candlemaker shook his head. "We can't just change what's been written; it's written, case closed, no conversation-" the Book of Life suddenly flew to his face and opened up. "Oh… Yeah, that'll do it."

"What?"

"If I tell you this your father will probably murder me in my sleep, but… There are two 'holes' in the rules."

Hope glistened in Marigold's eyes. "What holes?"

"The first, a God and a human can't be together, but a god and a spirit is another thing altogether. Have you heard of the apotheosis?"

"It's when a human ascends to godhood, right?"

"Well, if a god is murdered by a mortal, well, someone has to take his place, and who could be better than the human who killed him? It doesn't have to be an important god, it could be a lesser spirit and the human could get his powers still."

Definitively, that was not an option.

"The other?"

"If you and Juan Carlos turned out to be soul mates, the Ancient Rules wouldn't apply to you. When he dies, he will automatically ascend to godhood due to your soul bond with you."

"In either way he dies?" Marigold groaned. "The first one, it's probable he'd get killed before even killing a god. The second, we'd have to wait till he died, and who knows how long that will take. I know human lifespans are nothing compared to ours, but it's still not fair!"

"Well, first of all, he'd have to know who you really are. I have to guess he doesn't even know you're a Goddess just yet, does he?"

"I just… don't know how to tell him, what if I freak him out?"

"Well, if he truly likes you he won't mind." The Candlemaker grew nervous "oh, what do I know? I've been single for my entire life!"

Marigold rolled her eyes with a giggle; really, the Candlemaker and his antics.

Dark clouds were starting to engulf the red colors of the sky. A storm would come soon, very soon, so people were already closing their shops and going into their homes. Juan Carlos, however, was still in the plaza, waiting for Marigold to come back. She said she'd have something important to tell him today, so he was waiting for her to come. He didn't bring an umbrella, but he doubted it would take that long.

Xibalba was staring at him, waiting in a dark alley for the chance to come. Marigold would return soon, he'd have to do this when Juan Carlos was in her sight; he couldn't do this personally, she would recognize his aura and realize what he was going to do. Ponzoña, on the other hand… The two-headed snake was glancing up at his master with questioning eyes. However, Xibalba didn't say anything, and was actually reconsidering what he was going to do. The only way Marigold would apparently understand that humans could not be trusted was that she saw it with her own eyes, but it didn't mean he liked what he was going to do. But this was for her own good, he didn't want her to know what the punishment for breaking the Ancient Rules was.

Xibalba let Ponzoña slid off his arm and fall to the ground, before snapping his fingers and enveloping the snake in green fire. A few seconds later, in place of a two-headed serpent was an attractive young girl with red hair, hazel eyes and pink dress with exquisite curves. Ponzoña examined at his shape with shock and horror and looked up at his master. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" he asked with a high-pitched woman's voice, causing him to take his new hands to his mouth.

"Don't be so exaggerate, it's temporary." Xibalba rolled his eyes. "I need you to do something for me."

"And why did you have to turn me into a woman-?!" Ponzoña looked back at Juan Carlos, then at himself, and connected the dots. "Oh, no! Nonono!"

"Only one kiss, Ponzoña, when Marigold comes and make sure she sees you."

"Seriously?! That's disgusting!"

Xibalba sighed in exasperation. "Do this for me and I'll let you pluck my feathers for your bed."

At that proposal Ponzoña seemed to considerate, but even with that he was reluctant. "If we do this you're going to break Marigold's heart terribly, you know that?"

Xibalba looked away with a sad and reluctant look. "It's for her own good, she'll understand it someday." He hardened his face and looked down at his snake. "Now go."

Reluctantly, Ponzoña walked (with some difficulty) out of the alley and towards the statue of Captain Mondragon, where Juan Carlos was waiting.

Juan Carlos heard footsteps behind him, and he found a young girl of about his age with red hair clumsily trying to walk over high-heeled shoes; his gentleman ship winning, he immediately skipped forward to catch her by the waist before she could fall to the ground. "Are you okay, señorita?"

Ponzoña's eyes glowed green as he immediately gazed into Juan Carlos's; the guitarrista suddenly lost consciousness, though not in body; a curious ability Ponzoña had was an hypnotic gaze that could knock people out mentally and render them controllable, though he rarely used this ability unless his master sent him on a task that required it. Ponzoña shivered in disgust at what he was going to do, but his hypnotic powers only lasted for a short time; besides, the sooner he did this, the sooner it would end.

Closing his eyes shut, Ponzoña kissed Juan Carlos in the lips. Juan Carlos didn't know what was happening until he felt the girl's lips on his, until he caught sight of dark hair in the corner of his eye. Alarmed, Juan Carlos pulled away from the girl's kiss and embrace and found Marigold standing a few feet away, a look of shock and pain in her face.

Marigold had come earlier than planned to give a surprise to Juan Carlos, but it was the other way around. She was frozen in shock, seeing as he kissed another girl; she felt a painful oppression in her chest, and tears forming in the corners of her eye as she gave a step back.

Juan Carlos realized what was going on. "Marigold-!" He couldn't finish, as suddenly she started to run to the opposite direction with her heart shattered to pieces. "Marigold, wait!" Juan Carlos went after her, abandoning the red-haired girl. None of the two saw her turning into a two-headed snake and slithering into a dark alley.

Marigold didn't want to hear him, she didn't want to see him, she just wanted to get away and disappear. The torrential downpour on the clouds had finally been unleashed, and the cold rain drenched her clothing and hair, though she didn't care right now. Her feet were taking her somewhere; her vision was so blurry with tears she didn't see where she was going until she found herself under the Proposal Tree, and her nails digging into the bark as her eyes stung with tears. She heard Juan Carlos's footsteps behind her.

"Marigold, it's not what you think-!" he tried touching her, but she exploded in anger and smacked him hard across the face, sending him to the ground. Juan Carlos was surprised that she had so much strength, but now was not the moment to inquire about that. As he looked up at her, he saw a look of anger, hurt and pain on her lovely eyes that he never thought he'd see.

Marigold wanted to scream, but no words came out of her. Before Juan Carlos could say anything, her father came from behind the tree, giving Juan Carlos a hateful, hard look. But he looked completely dry, with no signs of the rain having drenched him. Just then, a crow-the same crow that had attacked him a few days ago-, flew down from the tree and perched on the man's shoulder. What happened next nearly gave Juan Carlos a heart attack.

"What happened, brother?"

The crow talked. How was it possible?! Neither Marigold or her father seemed bewildered by the bird's talking.

"Well, I suppose this charade has gone for too long." Xibalba said coldly, his words directed at Juan Carlos.

To Juan Carlos's utter but silent shock, the crow flew from his shoulder a few steps away from Marigold and her father, and transformed in a caiman-headed man covered in dark feathers that towered him. But the thing didn't end there; Marigold's father transformed into a dark skeleton with dark scarred wings. Both beings of darkness were staring down at Juan Carlos as if he were nothing more than an insect.

"M-Marigold…?"

She said nothing. To his astonishment she also transformed, but unlike the other two beings she turned into a young goddess with dark wings and hair, with eyes like those of her the dark skeleton.

Xibalba placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "We should get out of here, sweetie."

Marigold didn't even look at Juan Carlos as she turned around and wrapped her arms around her father, sobbing.

Juan Carlos tried to reach for her. "Marigold, wait!" He couldn't do anything as Xibalba stamped his two-headed snake staff on the ground, and both he and his daughter disappeared in a swirl of green fire, while the caiman-headed god vanished in a swirl of crow feathers. Juan Carlos fell to his knees on the spot where Marigold had been standing just a few seconds ago, his heart in his throat,

A thunder clapped in the dark sky as he let out a cry of pain and sorrow, calling Marigold's name.

Latoso perked up his ears as his mistress and her father teleported inside her room, soon followed by Zipacna. Marigold couldn't contain it any longer, and she burst out in tears, burying her face into her father's chest and wrapping her arms around him. Xibalba returned the embrace and wrapped his wings around her, stroking her head with his hand.

"Care to fill me in?" Zipacna inquired solemnly, placing a hand on his niece's shoulder as a comforting gesture.

"The boy was just toying with her." Xibalba replied simply.

"H-He was k-kissing another g-girl…" Marigold bawled. "I c-can't believe it…!"

"He what?!" Zipacna's feathers bristled in anger. "Why didn't you tell me sooner so that I could rip him apart?!"

"Because you'd do precisely that." Xibalba replied curtly. "As much as I'd like to see him dead, it's against the Ancient Rules."

"It's not that you ever minded about that, hermanito." Zipacna set his sympathetic gaze on Marigold. "Sobrina, if you need anything, you know where to find me." He patted her shoulder one more time before disappearing in a blur of feathers.

When his brother was gone, Xibalba went back to comforting his daughter. "Shhh. It's okay, mi florecita."

"Y-You were right, p-papá…" Marigold spoke in a broken voice. "You won…"

"Let's not talk about that for now, my dear. You're soaked, you need to take a warm bath before you catch a cold." He lifted his daughter's chin with his fingers to look into her eyes with a small smile. "How about you take a bath while I go fetch you some tea?"

Not knowing what else to do, Marigold nodded her head. As Xibalba left the room and went for the kitchen, he felt his heart squirming in sorrow at Marigold's heartbreak; he had never liked to see her cry, it made him feel sad too… but he was certain that she'd be back to her cheerful self in a few days, she had to.

Meanwhile, Marigold was already in her bathtub, her hair flowing underneath the warm water; the steam and the warmth of the water was having a relaxing effect on her body, and the feathers on her wings that were not submerged bristled in delight, but it couldn't do anything to calm the ache in her broken heart. The young goddess clutched her mother's pendant as it would bring her some comfort, but she couldn't stop crying.

"Mamá…" she sobbed. "I wish you were here… I need you so much…"

After twenty minutes, Marigold finally left the bathtub and donned a pink gown, before stepping out of her bathroom, her wings wrapping around her body instinctively. She was just sitting down at the edge of her bed when her father returned, bringing a cup of tea in his hands.

"Feeling better?" he inquired, sitting down next to her and handing her over the cup. "Here, it's chamomile tea with a bit of lavender, it'll make you feel better." He watched as she took sips from the tea, managing to calm down a little bit. When the cup was empty, she placed it aside on her bedside table. She felt her puppy's nose sniffing at her wing, and she took him in her arms to hold him close to her chest, still sobbing.

"Shhhh." Xibalba pulled her closer with an arm and wing. "It's okay, mi florecita. Don't cry."

"You won the wager, papá…" Marigold sobbed, snuggling into his embrace.

"Now's not the moment, my sweet."

"I won't see him again. I don't want to."

"We'll talk about it later, right now you should take a little nap."

Nodding, Marigold lay down and shifted on top of her bed, pulling Rattles close to her and letting Latoso curl up next to her. Xibalba pulled up her sheets to cover her, and stroked her head tenderly. She couldn't stop sobbing even if she wanted to; she felt like she was suffocating and her heart had shattered. Was this how her father felt when her mother died? Xibalba cooed at her like when she was a baby.

"Don't cry, mi florecita. Papi's here." He thought for a moment. "Remember when you were little and you had a nightmare, how I would sing you a lullaby?"

Marigold nodded.

"How about I sing you a bit? Who knows? It might help."

She thought for a moment, before nodding. Xibalba rested next to her and covered her with a wing before starting to sing.

Do not cry

Do not fret

Though darkness may call

Do not forget

I am here

I will stay

Though storms may come

I'll be there for you.

Marigold snuggled against her father as her eyelids became heavy and she fell asleep. Xibalba planted a kiss on her head and stroked her cheek lovingly; he had suffered greatly when he cheated on this wager, it pained him in the very depths of his being, but it was for her own good. Someday she'd understand it.

But then, why didn't the feeling of guilt go away?