The first few days on their new, massive home were mainly spent exploring the property. It had a multitude of rooms, including a library with a variety of books on weapons, novels, magic, ect.
Alma raised the children much like how she was raised. It was a challenge but with the help of Fuego and Casita, the family was getting by. The garden provided a variety of vegetation and the traps in the woods provided some meat.
The mother would school her children in the library. They learned much through the books they had. Basic education, dark history, physical education.
Most of the time they'd pay attention. That is whenever Pepa's cloud didn't strike lightning. Or when Julieta threw knives at a target, mainly her brother. Or when Bruno's rats didn't scurry on the floor and on the family.
The triplets learned not much about the outside world. Only that it was dangerous, a place where the Madrigal family would never be accepted. A place where their father was killed by them.
They'd visit their fathers grave often, having a seance to talk to him almost everyday. The children loved to talk to him, and he'd love to listen to their mischievous tricks they play on each other.
Julieta's new knowledge on venom and knives grew quite useful, in the kitchen and when spending time with her siblings. She found a box of blades in Casita, ranging from simple cooking knives to large swords, axes, and machetes. She loved to read potion books and make potions, having Bruno do taste testing.
She helped Alma cook the meals, even experimenting ingredients with the potions she makes. As her skills grew with her, she found out that her food could heal the wounded.
Pepa's cloud grew along with her, she even gave it the name Fantozzi. It would continuously rain or thunder above her, even spreading over the household when her emotions grew to the extreme. In her free time, she reads a few of the books in the library, tragic novels being her favorites. She would use her lightning to strike her siblings whenever she wasn't reading.
The only man in the house was the favorite target among his sisters. Yet, he never seemed to be too bothered by it. The boy would often hide inside the walls, attempting to scare his sisters. Most of the time failing.
Bruno's gift took time to understand, but it was later revealed he could see into the future. His eyes would glow green whenever his powers were active.
His visions in his early years were about small events. Animals near the fence and going to be caught in the traps, wandering travelers nearby, what his family would do the next day. Even if it was already predictable.
That is until one day, Bruno had a vision. Not the ones he usually gets.
This one showed something new.
It had just past their 13th birthday, and the family were telling their father how they spent their day, next to his statue in a small gazebo. They used a crystal ball that glowed whenever they were in contact with Pedro, and an ouija board that connected them to the spirit world.
"Oye," Bruno said. His family looked at him, seeing the boy's eyes glow their signature green light. This was a starting sign showing that a new vision was about to emerge. "I'm getting a new vision,"
"It better not be what I plan on making with this," Julieta chuckled, gesturing to her basket. It was filled with new potion ingredients; a few jars of insects, a frog, leaves and sticks.
"This one is new," Bruno said in a worried voice. He winced as he felt a pounding against his skull. He quickly grabbed sand from his pocket. He kept a large handful with him, to make physical vision slab after his sand ritual.
"I'll talk to you tonight," Alma told Pedro.
"Te amo, cara mía," Pedro said, right before the crystal ball glow faded away.
Bruno made a large circle in the gazebo. Julieta set down some of her leaves and twigs, while Fuego lit them. A sand dome formed around the triplets, Alma and Fuego, beginning the ritual.
The family held hands in the circle, as Fuego stayed in the small leaf pile. The wind blew around them, the sand dome illuminated green as new images began to be revealed.
Just outside Casita, near the river, stood a small town. A band was playing lively music, and the local theater group was practicing for their next play. People were talking, haggling the prices with the shop owners.
A group of 3 friends were playing in the woods, playing hide and seek. 12-year-old Osvaldo was looking for the perfect hiding spot. He had a bit of a sweet tooth and helped his father with deliveries in town.
They were already far from town, and he knew they shouldn't be out far. There has been talk about what happens in the woods since before he was born, but it was almost sunset and they wanted to play one more game before returning home.
He ran deeper in the woods, until he came upon an iron gate. The gate had detailed butterfly decorations, a cobblestone path that led to a house. One that could be barely visible through the fog.
"Osvaldo!" A voice called out. He jumped, seeing his friends, the rebellious duo Rosa and Bernardo. They stopped at the gate as they saw the gate.
"I don't believe it!" Bernardo gasped. "The house is real,"
The three heard gossip about the house in the woods. It could be dated back to when the settlers first found the town. A few hunters went into the forest, only to come out running and screaming about the living house. They looked past the fence, seeing the form of an old home.
"Let's go!" Bernardo grinned. He was only a year older than the others, but he was a bit of a troublemaker. He would pull small pranks on the townspeople, only to be caught and grounded by his parents.
"Are you crazy?" Rosa hissed. "What if those stories are true!"
"Only one way to find out," Bernardo pushed the gate, surprisingly opening. He poked his head through, then walked in. Rosa hesitantly followed behind him, while Osvaldo stayed close to the gate. Not wanting to be left behind, the youngest decided to go with his friends. The three walked up to the house, not seeing any signs of residence.
"We should go," Osvaldo whimpered, trying to pull Bernardo back to the gate.
"Let's look inside." Bernardo said with encouragement. "We'll be quick. Besides, the house isn't alive and I don't think anyone lives in this place."
The door slowly creaked open. Each slowly poked their head through the crack, Osvaldo on the bottom, then Rosa, and Bernardo stood above them.
It was dark, a few candles lighting the area. They slowly walked in, seeing in the corner stairs and a courtyard in the center. The floor was covered in tiles and overhanging plants on the balcony.
A kitchen could be seen through the right side hallway, a dining area across from it. Rosa went into the dining area. A chandelier hung above the table, a few candles lit above them. Osvaldo looked through the shelves in the kitchen, seeing different bottles and jars of plants and unknown liquids. Bernardo lit a candelabra from the counter, using it as a lightsource to see within the shadows of the building.
The trio moved onto the courtyard, seeing a few paintings on the walls. One was a painting of three children. Two girls and one boy, having an eerie atmosphere around them.
The boy wore a faded green ruana with a hood over his head. He had rats with him, and green eyes. One of the girls wore a faded yellow, almost brown, dress with a matching headband. Her hair was in a long braid, the end of it tied like a noose. The other girl wore a dark blue dress, hair tied back, and held a bottle of some glowing liquid.
"Who are they?" Osvaldo asked. His friends shrugged. A few rumors of the house in the woods mentioned a witch, but nothing about children.
Thunder boomed above them, which was strange since it was a clear day when they went into the woods. The group heard rats scamper on the floor. They climbed up a shadow that stood in front of them. It wore a ruana with a hood over his head, hiding the figure's eyes.
None of them had noticed it appear, but Bernardo stood his ground. He wasn't going to let anyone scare him.
"Wh- Who are you?" He stammered, trying and slightly failing in hiding his fear.
The shadow didn't say anything. Instead it looked up at them, and removed his hood. It was revealed to be the boy from the painting, who even had the rats along his back.
Lightning continued to burst around them, more shadows began to appear. The girls in the painting beside the boy. One was playing with the hair-braided noose, the other shaking the potion bottle. One of them had a cloud above her, where rain began to fall upon them.
Bernardo's arm began to shake, he felt Rosa clutching to his poncho. Osvaldo hid behind them, peaking past Rosa's shoulder.
"I was wondering when you were going to arrive," the friends looked up. On the second floor above them, stood a woman holding a lantern and wore a black shawl over her shoulders. The balcony railing moved to the side and stairs formed, connecting the second floor to the center of the courtyard. The three friends backed away, and the woman walked down the steps so calmly as it was a normal process.
"Y- you knew we were coming?" Rosa stuttered.
"Of course we knew." the woman answered. Her tone shifted from an unsettling calm to a growing anger. "And you dared invade my home!"
The intruders backed away from her as she walked closer to them. The floor raised up off the ground, making the kids tumble to the floor. The woman continued her warning.
"We are the Family Madrigal. And if you ever harm my family or intrude into my home again, I will curse you and your families for all eternity!"
The front doors slammed open, the wind and floor pushed them outside. Osvaldo, Bernardo, and Rosa scampered off the ground, screaming as they ran to the front gate.
Osvaldo took one last look at the house. He saw the open window slam closed, and the front door where the woman was standing shut.