Now that Sisters of Burden is finished I can post this which I have been working on while I had writer's block. My headcanon is that Mirabel practically raised Antonio because of how busy Pepa was all the time so Antonio sees Mirabel as his mother more than Pepa. I also wanted Mirabel to keep her original gift of being the next keeper of the candle but I wanted it to be more and a family Miracle would not want a bond like Mirabel and Antonio's to die so I thought what if they were given a room to share. Also I thought butterflies being connected to the candle just kinda fit.
Deep in the heart of the jungle gathered many animals from the largest hippo to the tiniest mosquito.
"Is it true?" whispered the bears
"I thought the eternal flame was granting only one speaker to us," whispered the parrots
"Hush, the wise ones will explain it all," said the Jaguars
Suddenly the air was filled with thousands upon thousands of butterflies.
"Oh great transformers, is it true we are being given more than one speaker?" asked a hippo
"Yes, the eternal flame has decided its future keeper can no longer be without a gift lest she loses what made her worthy in the first place. Ten years ago it misjudged how the humans would view its choice it fears for its own safety for few truly see her. The flame has decided that she too will be able to speak with us as well as the young one who was originally going to be our speaker. We butterflies will do our duties as speakers of the flame but as she is destined to be its keeper she is by that extension, our ruler. However both speakers are young and will need guides of similar ages," said the swarm of butterflies
"I volunteer to guide the elder speaker, future keeper of the flame," said a mother jaguar named River, bowing her head to the butterflies
"If my mother is guiding the elder I shall guide the younger," said an adolescent jaguar named Parce copying his mother's gesture.
"So it shall be, come now, the ceremony is mere hours away and it is quite the journey to those with no wings," said the butterflies
"Great ones, what are the names of the speakers?" asked a tucan named Pico
"The names the humans gave them are inconsistent with their destinies, to all of us creature of the wild the elder speaker shall be called Firebele, the younger will tell you his own name but will be given a new one by us when he reaches adulthood," said the butterflies
"You said they were both young but the elder already has her name by us?" asked a bear
"Though young she has been made to mature faster than she should have and is more grown than most her age, the younger speaker may not be her offspring by birth but it is she who has raised him and it is her he looks to for guidance. The eternal flame does not wish a rift to form between them as it has between her and the rest of her elders. They do not know the flame's intentions and therefore missed the point," said the butterflies with a note of sadness
"Then let us be off, there is no time to waste," said the jaguars
…
Mirabel felt like she was the one back at that door so long ago as she led Antonio to his door. She stood off to the side as Antonio touched the candle then approached his door. The magic spread through his fingers to the door and Mirabel gasped as she felt a warm glow through her as she had when she had touched the candle so long ago.
A tucan landed on Antonio's arm and address both him and Mirabel
"Welcome speakers, do you understand me?" asked the Tucan
"Uh-huh uh-huh, I understand you," said Antonio
The Tucan turned more to Mirabel
"Do you? Firebele?" asked the Tucan
"Yes, I understand," said Mirabel
Abuela stood shocked.
"Can my friends come?" asked Pico
"Of course, they can come!" exclaimed Antonio
"Come one come all, our speakers are here, the eternal flame keeps its promises," Called Pico
Antonio wasn't paying much attention to that last part, he was too excited to just have a gift. Mirabel looked between the candle and the tucan.
Were animals connected to the magic?
Mirabel was covered in a swarm of butterflies.
"Dearest Firebele, our queen, we understand you will have many questions but the jaguar River will guide you when we can't. The highest of your court will stay with you but it is best for us to answer your questions away from smaller ears," said one of the butterflies.
"My name is Mirabel though, not Firebele" she said
"The humans have named you Mirabel, but to all creatures of nature you are to be known as Firebele," said the butterfly
The door glowed and everyone gasped as it had two names and two people on it. Mirabel and Antonio.
"We have a new gift," exclaimed Abuela
Antonio suddenly grabbed Mirabel's hand so they could open the door together.
The door opened to about ten feet of a normal room then turned into a massive jungle with a tree at the center. The upper canopy seemed to be a huge treehouse covered in thousands of different flowers and the wood was painted teal.
Parce bounded in and picked Antonio up and threw him on his back as he ran up to explore the tree.
River walked up to Mirabel's side.
"Come speaker, your palace awaits you," said River, lowering herself for Mirabel to climb on.
They climbed high into the canopy and Mirabel found the inside of the treehouse was larger than the room it was in. It was an actual castle made of wood and flowers, butterfly motifs everywhere. There was even a throne room with candles lighting the rug up to where a golden throne in the shape of a zinnia stood on a dais.
"This would have been your room if the eternal flame's intentions had been understood, you would have had all of this when you took over its care. Instead, the flame decided to give it to you now. As the one who will one day keep the flame, the great transformers see you as their queen. So you get your castle within the jungle as a speaker," said River
"What do you mean by eternal flame?" asked Mirabel
"The fire maintained by love, lit by sacrifice, and gifted by the maker, the one that has granted your pack it's magic," said River
"The candle?" asked Mirabel
"The very same," said River
"But Why don't they see Abuela as their queen now? She keeps the candle right now," asked Mirabel
"She wasn't ready and when the gifts were first given she proved she had missed the true nature of the flame and therefore the great transformers would not listen to her," said River
There were countless hallways, rooms dedicated to things she loved most. A sewing room with a dress on a form in the center, it looked like a blooming light blue aster. There was a magenta and gold cape and gold crown covered in butterflies and jewels set to look like flowers and flames.
"You don't have to wear it now but they are for when you feel ready, there are much less formal gowns in the closet in your bedroom," said River, leading the girl up a staircase to the right of the dais in the throne room.
Mirabel gasped as she opened the door to the master bedroom. It was almost a blue, magenta, and gold version of Isabella's room but the bed was a hammock and the curtains were massive palm frawns and the walls were exclusively butterfly bushes. She opened her closet to find at least fifty different dresses all in her favorite colors, her eyes gravitated to one that looked like the wings of a blue morpho butterfly.
"This seems like a bit much," she said
"The eternal flame feels guilty that its intentions weren't clear enough to the current keeper, the butterflies believe it is going over the top in trying to compensate you, I believe the den you humans live in is also playing a role in the extravagance," said River
"But why now?" asked Mirabel
"Because your cub was getting a gift and it saw how close you two are, rather than give you a random room out of nowhere it decided to combine the gift it was going to give your cub and your room, and since you would need communication with the flame, being able to talk with those who can speak to it was all the more incentive to give you the same gift as your cub," said River
"We should probably head back to the party," said Mirabel.
She rode River back down the tree.
Everyone was waiting and a slightly wet Antonio was giggling like crazy, he had cleary ridden Parce through a waterfall
"We need a picture! Everyone together," exclaimed Abuela,
Antonio grabbed Mirabel's hand and pulled her to the front with him, butterflies by the hundreds swarmed above in the photo as the whole family showed off their gifts.
"La Familia Madrigal!" everyone exclaimed, marking Mirabel's first picture with her family.
During the biggest party Mirabel had ever experienced, Abuela approached her.
"Mirabel, Tonito is still young since you two are sharing a room you will be expected to look after him, I am proud that you have a gift now. You and Antonio must find a way to use it to serve the community," said Abuela
"I will Abuela," said Mirabel
"Excellent," said Abuela
…
Later that night after the party had wound down and everyone started heading home, Mirabel was helping Antonio get ready for bed.
"I'm glad you have a door now, I'm even happier that it's mine too," said Antonio hugging her.
Mirabel smiled and tucked him into his hammock. Parce had his own massive cushion on the sleeping balcony.
"Goodnight Tonito, I'll see you in the morning, I love you," said Mirabel, kissing his forehead and walking to where River was waiting to take her up to her castle in the tree.
"Love you, Mama," whispered Antonio
Mirabel felt her heart soar. And she walked through the wooden hallways of her treehouse castle to her bedroom. River lay down on a pile of cushions in the corner.
She had a gift, she had a room, she had Antonio still, for once her life was looking up.
