This chapter does have some overlap with Scarring Nightmare (Ch11) near the start, but I would definitely advise reading the part anyway, since it is still mildly important to the grander story.
ENCANTO,
MAY 22, 1950 5:00 AM
Mirabel was kneeled on the ground of the star-filled void yet again, next to that familiar cracked door. Luis Cortés was on the ground, this time still wrinkled, old, and wearing his funny ruana. Bloodied, beaten, and winded. Again. 'What is going on? Why is this happening again?' She subconsciously thought.
Her 'dead' abuela pointed at her with her machete. The old figure began walking towards her slowly, the echoing sound of her footsteps somehow bouncing off of non-existent walls. Mirabel felt as though she was locked in place; unable to move her legs as if they were frozen in ice. All she could do was fling her arms up, not yet ready to accept fate.
The machete came down like an axe to a log, hitting her in the palm of her hand. When she opened her eyes, she was in her bed. The cut was still on her hand, though. Casita seemed to light her lantern for her, albeit it was dim.
A sleeping Luisa lay on the floor, a snoring grunt from one of those corny fairy tales written by el señor Ortegas for the children. Across the room was el señor Cortés, now in his foreign and honestly quite interesting clothes, and with a young face.
She sat up in her bed, grabbing her glasses from the nightstand and putting them on, her vision beginning to clear. From there she sat still, holding her injured left hand with her opposite. She could see that the injury wasn't like any she had had before.
Leaning into it, she could make out a faint burn mark lining it; as if the blade that struck her was hot. It wasn't enough to cauterize the wound, but it was definitely enough to cause a visible, slightly charred edge along it.
Mirabel looked up to the sound of Cortés struggling in his bed, as he was trying to awaken yet was pulled back down to the bed by Casita's makeshift restraints. Soon, he began looking around the room. Mirabel checked the clock, noticing the short hand on the 5, meaning that his wounds were far better off than they had been just 6 or 7 hours ago. He wasn't expected to wake up this early.
Mirabel got out of her bed and walked towards him, carefully avoiding Luisa. She mustered the courage to speak. "Señor… Cortés?" As she was approaching, she noted some of the designs on his clothing. Some of the art was present in his works, most notably the cloth and the method of folding its edges which was used, as well as the overlapping. some of the overlapping. Some of the 'knotted vine' designs as he called them were present as well.
"Ay, I told you to call me Luis." His talking was shallow, and interrupted by a short pause as he tried to breath. Based on the deformation in his chest, she assumed a rib or two had been broken. Probably more, based on what she had seen being done to him the night before.
Mirabel still wondered what that dream was all about. It didn't feel like a dream, it felt like real life. Even more so for Luis, who was covered in the wounds he sustained from said dream. Not to mention the pulling she felt, towards a specific mountain in the west.
"Was that you in my dream? Did you give me that dream?" Mirabel's voice shuddered as she asked. There was no coincidence that when he was beaten the first time, she woke up to him on the floor, in the same clothing, at the same age, with the same injuries.
The second dream, maybe, could be a coincidence. That one felt more like an actual dream, and she could have just cut her hand in her sleep. Luis struggled to answer her, but pushed and did so anyway. "That was no dream."
Mirabel had that suspicion already; the first felt like a snippet of real life, a glimpse into an event that could happen, yet metaphorical in nature. And she felt a pull towards some place in- no, past the western range during the whole ordeal.
"What do you mean not a dream, what was it?" Mirabel asked. She wanted answers. Answers she would have to dig for, and she knew it. Luis answered her, taking multiple pauses in his statement. "It was an illusion, sent into your dream. I have the ability to project myself into the minds of others." He took a deeper breath, grunting in pain. "When I saw the cracks along the courtyard last night, I noticed they came from here."
Mirabel didn't know what to think. Cracks along the courtyard? The ability to probe minds? An illusion in the form of a dream? Many questions with no answers, many of which she doubted she could get from him. Before Mirabel expected, he continued after taking another, more painful breath.
"So I came and projected into your dream. Everything else, you saw." Luis finished. Mirabel had so many questions, but she wanted to ensure another one of her suspicions wasn't true. "Luis, are you the one who projected this 'illusion' into my dream?"
Mirabel couldn't help but notice that her own eyes were wide as she stared at him, waiting for an answer. Luis chuckled lightly before he continued. "No, something else gave you that vision. I simply added myself."
Mirabel tried to organize her thoughts into a solid conclusion. The first dream was an illusion cast by something else into her head. Luis also probed her mind and added himself into that dream, but only himself. Obviously they didn't like each other, since her corpse family beat him up.
She looked at her palm again. Taking note of the barely visible burned edges again, the realization came to her. The second one must have been a mix of whatever gave her the illusion, and her own dreams. Whatever happened to her palm, it could not have been done in the real world. Therefore, the injuries she had were not from Luis, or her bed frame.
The injuries must be from the thing that gave her the dream. And she might have a clue about what gave her that dream, anyway. When she had it the first time, she was called by a man with an accent to find him, and as she did, she had glimpses of a river made of rainbows.
Mirabel was pulled out of her thoughts when Luisa stopped snoring, shooting up from the ground and facing Luis. "Dolores! He's awake, Dolores! Get the others, quickly!"
Luis wrinkled his nose and squinted his eyes. "Why on Earth are you shouting?" He said annoyed. Luisa told him. "It's the middle of the night and you shouldn't be awake." Luisa turned around to face Mirabel in the eyes. "Neither should you, sis." She picked her up by her shoulders, and sat her on her bed.
Luis inquired next. "It's night?" Mirabel and Luisa both nodded, Mirabel realizing he had no way to tell the time except the clock. A few minutes of awkward silence later, as Luisa stood there making sure nothing happened, Dolores walked in with the parents and abuela. Her father and tío were both armed with some of Félix's old lever-actions, which he occasionally used to hunt.
Her mamá came in, putting a cup of juice on Antonio's old nightstand. Julieta sat by Mirabel, noticing the cut on her hand, and promptly dragged Mirabel out of the nursery.
"Where's that cut on your hand from, amor?" asked Julieta to her daughter, as they walked down the stairwell to the kitchen. "I must have cut it while I was tossing in bed." Mirabel lied.
She had already determined it was from her abuela in the second dream; after Luis was already in custody. She knew she would have to keep her from examining it closer, as the burn marks would quickly disprove any lies she told.
They made it into the kitchen after a few seconds. Pepa followed them out of the nursery, but instead of the kitchen she went outside onto the patio, so that she wouldn't bury the house in snow from the inside.
Julieta lit the oven, Casita handing her a box of matches. She kneaded and formed the cornflower and cheese, and placed it on the oven as she came over to her, obviously concerned. When she tried to grab Mirabel's left hand, Mirabel quickly withdrew it.
"What's wrong, corazon?" Julieta said softly, running her finger through the younger girl's hair.
"Nothing, mamá. I promise, I just… tossed in my sleep." Mirabel made up a very unconvincing lie.
"Well, what did you cut it on?" The mother asked, as she tried to examine Mirabel's hand again, but she refused to cooperate. One good look, and the whole family starts asking questions.
"I don't know, mamá. Probably a piece of the bed frame." Mirabel knew her mother probably didn't believe her. But to her surprise, Julieta pulled away from her, flipping the arepa, and clasping her hands in front of her as she faced her daughter again.
"Mira, you need to tell me the truth. Did that man get out of the restraints? Did he… harm you?" Julieta's voice shuddered at harm.
Mirabel was surprised at Julieta's thoughts. Sure she had lied, but what Julieta thought wasn't much better. "No!" Mirabel exclaimed. "He's… secure in those restraints. Casita knows what it's doing." The tiles on the countertop flipped in agreement.
Julieta let out a sigh, as she moved back to Mirabel, rubbing her back. "Mira, I think something is… clouding your judgment. The same thing happened to my brother, mi hija. You don't need to lie."
Mirabel looked over to the family tree in the nearby dining room. On it she saw the slowly deteriorating portrait of Bruno, her long lost tío. For all she knew, he had left the encanto altogether. Maybe he… No. That couldn't be true.
Julieta walked to the stove, taking the arepa off of the hot surface, placing it on a plate, and being handed a box with some shredded cheese by the sentient tiles. She sprinkled a little on it, and placed it into a napkin.
She walked back to Mirabel, who was now thinking about what would happen if she strayed down this path. Her tío was feared by the town since before she was born, but it wasn't always like that. He had to have done something to warrant it, he had to have done something that made him feel no other option but to leave.
Was she on the track to have that happen to her? Was she about to encounter that railroad switch, as her tío would describe to her the future when she was little? Were her actions going to result in a faded portrait and resentment, as they had with him?
Julieta simply rubbed her back, as Mirabel extended her right hand, waiting for the arepa. When she got it, she took a bite, and the pain in her left hand vanished as she watched. It was very slightly slower than she was used to, but only by a few seconds.
Mirabel heard the main door open and close, and heard some talking in the courtyard between the two fathers. Before long the conversation ended, without her being able to make out a single word. Julieta finally broke the silence between the two. "Mija, I think it's time for you to get some rest. I know yesterday was a lot for you."
Mirabel simply nodded, walking away from the kitchen, up the stairs, and into her room. She was met by an empty room, the only reminder of Luis Cortés being the dried blood on Antonio's former bed, and the floor.
She wondered where he had gone, but she knew if she questioned it she would simply be in the way. Besides, Abuela was probably asleep by now.
She sat on her bed, but she didn't want to go to sleep. If she got stuck in another dream like that night, she might not survive.
She sat up in her nightgown, unable to go to sleep for the next hour and a half. When daybreak began to hit, she decided that she would go to find answers.
She changed into her favorite skirt and blouse, walking out of the Casa's door to see the golden sky and leaves, and the dew among the grass.
As she walked out, she noticed the clouds parting in the sky above. She thought perhaps Tía Pepa was out early, but that theory changed when a rainbow beam shot from a hole in the sky, landing past one of the distant hills yet still within the valley. To the… west. Just like the answer she was seeking. The loud sound followed a few seconds later.
Before long the rainbow ripped from the earth, and the sky healed itself, the sound following shortly behind. That was neither natural, nor Pepa's Magic. She decided to investigate.
While walking through town, she found that while almost nobody was up, a few other people had noticed the beam as well. A group of people was going to investigate, so she decided to silently trail them.
They made it to one of the hills, where she stopped in her tracks as she felt a pull. Almost like what she had felt in the dream. At first she resisted it, but she realized that finding out what it was would give her worth.
This time it faced a different direction, towards the south. She silently broke off from the group and headed toward the other side of the valley.
She felt the pull strengthening as she approached the face of the mountain, traveling through the harsh brush, various embroideries from her skirt lost to the limbs and leaves. Her feet began to hurt from the hike, as she had not prepared for this type of journey. A few cuts began to form on her arms from the thorns and sticks, but she ignored the pain.
As she approached the mountain, she made out a former animal's den. Perhaps a bear's, but only Antonio would be able to make it out. The pull was coming from there.
She neared the den when she noticed two figures inside of the den. They were both men, one of them a muscular blond with fair-skin, long hair and a beard, and a light blue ruana with lightning patterns along it. She quickly hid near a nearby tree.
The second man was darker skinned, almost exactly Félix's shade, but with shaved hair, white eyes, and an orange ruana, patterns of eyes along it. Looking closer, their ruanas had more rounded and tighter head holes, kind of like Luis'. She could overhear some light conversation, but couldn't make it out.
As she was investigating, she accidentally leaned too hard on a limb connected to a tree, snapping it. Seemingly out of nowhere, or maybe the back of the den, an oversized hammer flew to the hand of the blond.
Before Mirabel could turn around to run, the blond was already in front of her. His eyes were entrenched in a face of war, his hammer at his side.
"How did you find us?" He spoke with a deep voice and a slight rasp. "I…" She moved around to get a better look into the cave, seeing the blind man sit there, mouthing something with his mouth.
She realized that the ruanas and the hammer had designs along them somewhat similar to Luis' favorite works, including his ruana, which even had the same head hole. Curiously, she tried to enter the cave, but was met by a strong grip from behind on her shoulder. The blond spoke again. "How. Did. You. Find. Us."
Mirabel ignored the question as she asked her own. "Do you know Luis Cortés?" Immediately upon hearing that, the blind man looked… no, faced her, through his harrowingly milk-white eyes.
The strong hammer wielder opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the one on the wolf pelt.
"Thor, she can know. She's an ally of Loki's. That's… just his undercover name."
The muscular man, who she guessed was Thor, looked between the two, before looking back to Mirabel. "Are you truly an ally of Lo- Luis Cortés?"
"Yes. I've been searching for answers all day, about what happened to him last night, and where he went." Mirabel debated with herself before deciding to reveal the truth, these guys seemed to know something most Colombians here didn't. The larger man put his hammer down on the ground. "Well, keep what you hear here secret."
"When the rainbow shot from the sky, I felt a drawing to this place. So, I followed it. And here I am!" She put on a fake smile at the end. Thor and Heimdall on the other hand, frowned. The pull had completely faded at this point.
"Damnit Odin, you could have banished Heimdall when it was night, atleast." Thor muttered to himself. These people had some odd names.
"Who's Odin? Heimdall?" She asked. The blind man 'looked' at her. "I guess we haven't introduced ourselves, have we?" Mirabel shook her head and tried to introduce herself. "Well, I'm-"
He interrupted her. "I know very well who you are, Mirabel Madrigal." This made her take a step back. How did he know who she was? "My name is Heimdall. This is Thor Odinson." He gestured to the big guy, who stood with his arms crossed, and seemed uncomfortable with sharing their names. Mirabel realized their names were definitely foreign, from the sound Thor's name made.
"…Tor? Sor? I'm sorry, say that again?"
"Thor. The sound isn't native to your lingual vernacular, so it may be hard to pronounce. Tor is fine, right Thor?"
Thor just looked at him, arms crossed, and then back at Mirabel. "That's what the Icelanders call me, so it's fine I suppose."
Mirabel shook a look of confusion off of her face. "So I assume you guys are somehow related to Luis?" Thor let out a sigh. "He's my brother, Loki Odinson. We've said too much already, Heimdall, we should make her promise to not say a word." He turned to him, Heimdall nodding.
Mirabel took this as an opportunity. She inherited some… negotiation techniques. From her dad, of course. "I'll stay silent if you explain everything."
Thor let out a sigh. "She's got some of Loki's spirit." He looked to Heimdall, who nodded in agreement. "Alright." Heimdall began to explain.
He said they were from another civilization, which tamed magic by themselves. They live for thousands of years, and Luis/Loki was sent to monitor the Encanto, since Earth had previously never had magic. They were investigating Loki's accident as well, which was why they were here. Mirabel took notes of everything said.
Mirabel, seemingly to their surprise, and honestly to her own as well, didn't find it all that strange. And so when she left before the rest of the family woke up for breakfast, they didn't try to stop her. Heimdall had insisted she was trustworthy, so Thor listened to him. Something about him 'seeing all.'
But the voice she heard in her dreams came back as she was walking home. She heard the voice insistin a whisper; "Tell Dolores about the truth you have learned. Gain the support you will need."
She ignored it. She wasn't going to betray the brother of Luis, or his… friend? Whatever Heimdall was to him. She got home before anyone was awake, quietly stole an arepa from the kitchen to heal her cuts, and quickly went upstairs to change into another set of clothes.
She could ask about Luis later, maybe from Dolores. Surely she would know where he went. She was probably tasked with making sure he didn't do something… not without them knowing, atleast.
Quick question for you readers; should I do the location & date formatting as I did at the beginning of this chapter? (I may even go back through the other chapters and add it there as well.) Or should I just skip it and let the reader figure it out?
I just want to read your opinion on it, the only reason I added it is because I think it looks nicer.
If the character doesn't know the date or time, I'll keep it hidden. Obviously we don't want to spoil stuff lol.