"Hvorfor legger du deg ikke bare på ponchoen som jeg sa?"

"Because I can lie on the floor just fine."

"Men du trenger ikke…"

"Shut up."

Dolores tried as hard as she could to tune out the sounds of the other townspeople… and company, as she walked to Casita's patio.

It turned out that when someone speaks in another language, specifically one with completely foreign sounds, the difference in pronunciation is enough to make it stand out amongst the neverending cacophony of speech.

Therefore, she could not help but constantly be drawn to the act of eavesdropping on the brothers, and also their friend. It was like having her name called, drawing them to her focus. Although she was occasionally able to garner success in tuning them out.

Unfortunately, it wasn't always under the best of circumstances.

In this case, it wasMariano. The man of her dreams, according to her tío. His soft yet powerful voice, his poetic selection of words, it was enough to make butterflies swirl around in her stomach, no matter what he was talking about. It could have been one of the poems he read to himself as he wrote at night, or it could have been him telling his friends that he needed to defecate.

It also sent a sick feeling straight through her stomach. The knowledge that the man who was sent to her by God would be ripped from her grasp. It was the most disheartening thing that could have happened to any of them.

She put less than usual on her plate when she arrived at the buffet. She knew what would be happening soon, even if she had tried her best not to overhear. She tried going to her resting spot earlier, and even thought that Mirabel distracting her would help. Maybe take her mind off of him.

But it didn't. She had still heard the meeting between her abuela and la señora Guzmán. The proposal dinner was meant to be tonight. The clock was ticking, and when it inevitably struck 8, even the possibility of her and her love being together would be permanently pruned. Forbidden to regrow.

She was helpless. Utterly, completely helpless in the face of fate. Just as her tío was helpless in the face of whatever he saw through his own 'gift.' Just as Mirabel was helpless at the dissolution of her own door. Just as her abuela was helpless at the sight of the passing of her own gift from God.

But perhaps there was indeed yet a chance. And if there was even the slightest chance that she could finally live happily, that all of them could live happily… she would not hesitate to take it. It was that, or live the rest of her life in grief and regret.

She also needed to think of her tío Bruno. This was his chance at happiness as well, but he would be unable to take it from within those walls. Dolores knew that it was her obligation to take that chance for him, for her to finally do something right for him. After a decade of letting him go through hell in those walls.

Bruno was right, anyway. The house was literally tearing itself apart as the family drove itself into the ground. The family was fracturing, the tree was beginning to fall apart, and the bonds were weathering. She needed to take this chance, not just for her, not just for Bruno… but for her family as a whole.

Her choice was clear. And the chance to fix all of it… was her fifteen year old prima, Mirabel. The child forsaken by the miracle. The child who persisted in trying to redeem herself to blind eyes and deaf ears. The child who held more optimism than anyone else in their family.

The one who was seemingly going to be late for lunch by a few minutes.

"Dolores, where is Mirabel?" Julieta asked with a calm voice, as she sat at her own spot at the table. Bringing Dolores out of her thoughts, and quickly reminding her of her current situation. She was walking towards the table, plate and cup balanced in her hands.

"She's running as fast as she can." The young woman responded, as she sat down at her own spot in between Isabela and Antonio. Placing the plate and drink on the table in front of her.

Luisa spoke next, at the defense of her younger sister. "She was… helping some of the people in the plaza! By… telling the kids our family's history!" Luisa spoke, forcing a quick smile. Although Dolores didn't miss the twitch in her eye.

Abuela nodded, and beckoned for everyone not already doing so, to sit at the table. Her face was unreadable on Dolores' part, but she was never exactly one to read based on someone's looks. That was always Camilo's job.

After a few minutes passed, Mirabel arrived. Quickly running up to the patio from the pathway towards the main plaza.

"Ah, Mirabel! There you are." Abuela said, as Mirabel hastily rushed onto the patio. She placed her hands onto her knees, and was panting as loudly as a dog, still trying to catch her breath.

Dolores, however, froze when she noticed that Abuela was smiling. After Mirabel was late. For lunch. The last time someone other than Luisa or Antonio was late for lunch, she had given the culprit, her own brother, a very hard chancletazo.

Mirabel was obviously confused as well, Dolores didn't need to be an expert face reader like her brother to tell as much. Her eyes were wide, and she would have been frozen like a statue… if she wasn't still too busy trying to get oxygen to her brain.

After she finally caught her breath, she apologized to Abuela profusely for being late, then claimed her food from the buffet and walked towards the table slowly. A cautious tone could be heard in her footsteps, with observant eyes focused on Abuela. When she sat down, Abuela stood soon after.

"Firstly, an announcement." Everyone was expecting her to punish Mirabel, and so only stared in silence as she began. They were mostly afraid, more specifically that the smile was just a bait and switch tactic. They were afraid that she would whip out a chancleta, and whack her nieta. Just like last time, with Camilo.

Abuela jumped straight to the briefing. "As you all know, we've had to move the proposal date from yesterday. But the Guzmáns will be coming tonight for cena, right, Dolores?" She said cheerily, but it still delivered a pit of despair to the doorstep of Dolores' stomach. Making the butterflies swarm painfully throughout her insides.

And she had to hide it. All of her feelings. Although Mirabel did give her a knowing and sympathetic look, which while it didn't help much, it was something. At the very least, it reinforced the idea in her head, that she would be putting her faith in her.

Dolores allowed a slight smile to form, directed towards Mirabel, and then confirmed her abuela's statement. And also added a little… extra something she heard. "Yes, tonight. Mariano also wants five babies."

Isabela, who was sitting just to her right, quickly froze. A selection of flowers bloomed on her hair just as quickly, and her mouth gaped as her eyes widened in shock. It didn't take long for her to regain her composure, and force a smile on her face as Abuela plucked the odd flower out.

"Wonderful! Mariano is a wonderful man, I am sure the two of you will be happy. Or should I say… the seven of you?" Abuela said with a smirk, followed by a chuckle. If only she knew the truth. If only she knew how such a sentence pained her.

Dolores continued to eat her food. But as if it wasn't enough already, Abuela caught her attention yet again.

"Dolores, you will be tasked with making sure that our… guests… don't try to ruin the dinner."

And just like that, an idea was born in her head. An idea that was stricken down immediately by the morality of it. But… where was the morality in standing by, and allowing both her and her prima to go down the paths of discontentment?

But as she sat there, pondering her ideas, a voice called to her. She couldn't tell if it was just another voice in town, a family member, or… something else entirely. It whispered to her softly, enticing her to do its bidding. Yet it was nowhere near.

"The trickster god whomst you hold captive can help you, my child."

She tried to shake the voice out of her head, but it only continued to grow. She tried to focus on various other sounds throughout the entire town to distract her, to somewhat limited success.

"Did you hear about…"

"¡Señor Ortegas!"

"I think I have a crush on…"

"Papi, where do babies…"

"The trickster god can end the betrothal…"

"The trickster god can halt the proposal…"

"The trickster god can stop the nuptials…"

She finally managed to shove the idea out of her mind, as she continued to eat. Isabela had returned to eating her food normally as well. Camilo quickly teased her, although that was put to a halt when she filled his mouth with petals, forcing him to turn back into Camilo so he could spit them out.

"You know it to be your only path…"

Abuela then walked to Mirabel, who closed her eyes and froze as she stood behind her. She was tensing her muscles, as if to brace for something.

But it was only Abuela's words that came. Which many times could be much worse than a chancla, but in this case, they weren't.

"Mirabel, I've spoken to Miguel Hernandez. He will temporarily be running Cortés' shop."

Mirabel let out an audible sigh of relief. Well, audible to Dolores, at least. Her muscles relaxed again, and she returned to eating. But as she was in the middle of eating, Abuela caught her attention.

Abruptly. And physically.

"But first…" Abuela said, quickly grabbing one of Mirabel's arms. Mirabel choked on her food in fear, before she finally coughed it up to her mouth again. Flinching greatly when Abuela stretched her arm out, and slowly turning her head to face her vulnerable arm.

The family winced but did nothing, as Abuela pulled out a chancla. Whacking her hard on the arm with it, before putting it away. A chancletazo. It was actually pretty light. Camilo had gotten it far worse to his rear last time, and in more than one hit. He was, of course, visibly upset that Mirabel only got one strike to her arm.

Julieta's and Agustín's eyes were wide with shock, and the mother's hand was over her mouth, as they both stared at their daughter. The rest of the family was staring at Abuela with a diverse multitude of expressions.

Mirabel rubbed the site of impact, which was still red from the hit. A pattern visible from the grooves in the sandal. Her brows were angled outwards in fear, as she quickly grabbed a bit of food from her plate and ate it. Healing the mark within a second. It was expected, but it was also sudden, what her abuela had done.

Antonio's innocent, sweet little voice spoke through short tremors, breaking the silence. Directed at his mother. "Mamá… why did Abuela hurt prima Mirabel?" It garnered the attention of his mother, who upon hearing her son, summoned a thundering cloud above her head.

Abuela spoke again, addressing the glares she was getting from the family. Including some significantly aggressive ones from Julieta and Pepa.

"Some discipline is necessary for our service to the Encanto. We cannot afford to be unruly. We must strive to be grateful for the ability to serve our community. Speaking of which…"

She looked at Antonio, smiling again. Even though Antonio and his animals were very much distressed, probably fearing that he was going to get hit by a chancla as well. Which was an unfounded fear, since he didn't do anything, but he was five after all.

Félix consoled his wife, who was having a hard time forgiving her mother for scarring her five year old son. But eventually, the clouds managed to dissipate.

"I have found a wonderful position for you, Toñito. One where you can put your blessings to good use." She began with a cheery tone. Her hands clasped in front of her as she moved back towards her spot at the table.

"...You will be the diplomat to the animal kingdom. Whenever there's a problem with animals, people can call on you." Abuela smiled.

Antonio quickly forgot his fears, and smiled as well. "That's cool!" He then turned to Dolores, whispering something only she could hear.

"What's a… diplomat?" He asked her quietly. Which was a valid question coming from a five year old child, who was only soon going to be attending school for the first time.

Dolores bent down, and explained it to him. "A diplomat is someone who… makes compromises between two peoples." She then straightened up, taking the nod from Antonio as confirmation of her success.

"Our family was given gifts by God. And through the teachings of his only son, we shall use our gifts to help all others. ¡La Familia Madrigal!" Abuela shouted, gripping her hands and shoving them outwards in exclamation.

"¡La Familia Madrigal!" The rest of the family joined in, shouting her mantra to the skies with an enthusiasm that not many families could replicate. Even Mirabel joined in.

The family then dispersed. Abuela and Isabela into Casita. Félix, Camilo, Luisa, and Antonio into town. Pepa to the fields and farmsteads. Julieta to the kitchen. And lastly, Agustín to the chopping block at the side of the house.

Mirabel waited the longest, seemingly wanting to finish her plate before she left. Although that never stopped Camilo from doing both at the same time.

Dolores got up, and walked down the path towards the town as well. With no specific destination in mind. Leaving only Mirabel at the patio.

She continued walking towards wherever she felt. Taking a few turns to get to where she was going, occasionally covering her ears at the more excruciating sounds that could come from a town.

Dolores finally stopped at the town holding cells. Where Luis Cortés, his brother Tor Cortés, and his friend who's name escaped her, were being held captive. For reasons that remained elusive. Which was why she wanted to recruit a certain someone's help.

She had heard of his tricks. His abilities were demonstrated to Mirabel, and the three foreigners had a small conversation about it. Even if she could only understand two out of the three parties, she was still able to pick up on some stuff.

Enough to know that Luis was capable of going invisible. And also very much more dangerous than the family was led to believe. Or would elusive be the more accurate word? Devious?

Mischievous?

Ugh, just like her brother. But as an added benefit, without the loyalty that came through fear of her abuela. Which meant that, unlike her brother, he would be useful in helping her to fix… everything. The cracking family, the rats talking in the walls… that could be handled by Mirabel. Which was what she was doing right at that moment.

But the clock was on a very tight schedule. Mirabel needed to focus on the more important aspects of the family, meaning that… she was going to have to do this herself.

Hesitantly, Dolores pushed the broken door open, and entered the building. To her surprise, there was a newer, more ornate lamp burning endlessly on the table. Luis was sitting on his unfolded ruana-like wool clothing, as was the other in his cell.

The blond one wasn't doing so, opting instead to sit on the cold, hard stone ground. A curious decision, but she wasn't here for him. She was here for the other.

As she approached, the two capable of sight rose up. Noticing her presence, Luis was the first to approach the bars.

"Ah, Señorita Madrigal. What a pleasant surprise." He said, putting on a sharp grin, and tilting his head. He gestured his arms outwards towards the rest of his cell. "What summons you to us?"

The blind man sat in the corner, undisturbed. Although he did allow a grin to creep across his face, while the long-haired blond was just standing in the dark corner of his own cell, arms crossed and a frown on his face.

Dolores responded to his complicated and fancy question, with a simple answer.

"I have a job for you."

Yes, this chapter is super late. Very sorry about that. I mulled over this chapter more than a few times, and never quite got it exactly where I wanted, but I think it's at the very least good enough to be published.

I might still take a bit longer to make new chapters, as I just don't have the same motivation as I did when I first started. BUT, I also literally cannot go on hiatus without being begged by my heart to write more. So I'm not gonna stop entirely any time soon.

Side note: My traffic stats broke for a while. So that was slightly discouraging, but it's fixed now. So enjoy this new chapter! Or I guess if you're down here, you've already read it. ;-;