Authors Note: Alright! So, here's the first little short of their adventures beyond the Encanto! I'm probably going to have to start posting bi-weekly, if I'm going to be posting full chapters like this, since one week really isn't enough. This chapter alone was really rushed since I promised to get it out. We'll see how things go, chapter by chapter, but I'd say to expect bi-weekly updates now as things currently stand. Thanks again so much for reading, all your follows, favorites, comments, and reviews! I'm so glad you all are liking this. Stay tuned. :)
CAMILO
A path of grey cobblestone, lined with tall, white buildings bordering both sides, spreads out before us, expanding far off into the sunlit distance. Women in long dresses, men with tattered brown caps guiding carts or donkeys, and a handful of running children traverse the busy morning streets, bustling this way or that.
It's our very first town since leaving the Encanto. Only a two days walk from the gap in the mountain. Lesser yet if Al thought it safe if we teleported. But he didn't.
I gape out at it, taking it all in. Frozen in the spot I landed after we all hopped out of our donkey led wagon.
"Well, what do you think?" Alejandro whirls around to eye me and Bruno with a wide grin.
"It's uh . . . a town?" I shrug.
It's the best I can manage.
I'm a bit surprised to be honest. I thought it'd look different from home. That it'd feel different. Ominous. Intimidating. New. Exciting. Something. But it's honestly pretty similar. Just . . . bigger. With a whole bunch of normal strangers. None of which near gifted enough to conjure up flowers or a lift a donkey.
"Now what are supposed to do?" I glance at Sofia.
"First things first, we find an Inn," she says.
Alejandro pulls a bag of coins out of his pack and hands it to Bruno, who's still just gawking straight ahead. He almost drops it in a startled fumble. "It'll be easier if you get a room for all of us." Alejandro points at the bag. "They're more likely to be reasonable with an adult than a bunch of kids. But don't let them try to overcharge you, either! A basic room fit for four shouldn't cost more than 7,000 pesos per night here."
"You-You want me to take care of it?" Bruno squeaks. "But . . . uh . . . what about all of you?"
"We're going to go look for work, fit for the three of us." Sofia smiles at him. "It's harder to find things we can do, part-time, than for adults."
Bruno frowns. "I-I don't know about this," he whispers, shaking his head, his dark curls bouncing everywhere.
"Oh, come on! You'll be fine!" Alejandro pats him hard on the back, jolting him forward. "See? There's even an inn right there!" He points at a building off to our left, with a bunch of potted cacti out front and a wooden sign dangling in the window. "Just take our wagon up, tell them what you need, and bada-bing, bada-boom! You're finished! Task accomplished!"
He spreads his arms out wide and steps forward again with an I've-won-and-you-can't-convince-me-otherwise gleam shining in his hazel eyes.
Bruno purses his lips and stares him. The lack of energy or enthusiasm on his face tells me he's not persuaded in the slightest.
But, he merely sighs and rolls his eyes.
"Alright. But don't blame me if this goes sideways!" He grabs our donkey's reins and starts guiding it over to the inn. "And you three," he calls over his shoulder. "Try to stay out of trouble!"
Sofia and I both chuckle at the warning.
"He meant that at you, you know," she quips at me with a smirk.
My jaw drops. I place a feigned, offended palm dramatically to my chest. "Me? Why would you think I'd ever be one to cause trouble, querida?"
"Because you do," she snorts. "You always do."
"Ay, such hurtful words, mi bonita!" I grasp at the front of my ruana, acting as if I've been pierced with a wound. "To think, you have such little faith in me, after all we've been through together." I lean in close to her, grinning at the end, resting one arm, draped across her shoulder.
Sofia smiles and gently shoves me away, earning a few snickers.
The three of us watch Bruno trudge down the street into the inn, looking every bit of awkward and lanky as when he first exited the walls to help with the rebuild of Casita.
"How much you want to bet something goes horribly wrong?" I cross my arms.
"Hm. I'd say it's seventy-thirty," Sofia utters.
"In his favor?" I quirk an eyebrow at her. "Or . . . ?"
"Eh." She shrugs, not elaborating.
"Alright! Enough gawking!" Alejandro smacks both of our backs from behind. He smushes himself between us then starts marching forward. "The faster we find work, the faster we're able to go eat and explore! Let's get a move on!"
He waves for us to follow, and giving Sofia one last mutual smile, we continue onward together, down the main street.
We end up finding work at a general goods shop, unloading and packing crates.
Hours pass, with us running back and forth. It's now close to sunset, way beyond our typical siesta time, and the afternoon humidity's just making me more irritated and exhausted.
"Alright, that does it," I grumble, standing up straight. Finally at my limit.
Sofia and Alejandro both look up at me, from where they're kneeled over crates in the store's dark alleyway, witnessing just as I shapeshift into one of the stronger men from back in the Encanto.
I then start lifting the remaining crates with ease, stocking them into the wagon, where we were instructed.
"Camilo!" Sofia chides. She bolts up and, eyes darting around, grabs onto my shapeshifted person's shirt. "We've gone over this, you can't use your powers here. It's—"
"It's not safe." I smirk at her and tilt my head from side to side. "Look, no one saw! It's no big deal, mi luz. I got this."
Sofia frowns as I load up the last of our batch. The second it's set, I shapeshift back.
"See? Nothing bad happened, and now we're finished faster."
Sofia and Al both scowl at me.
Alejandro groans. Rubbing the back of his neck, he rises to his feet. "Just . . . don't get in the habit of this," he says. "It might not have caused any problems now, but that doesn't mean that will always be the case."
"Fine. Fine." I roll my eyes. "Come on. Let's grab our pay and get out of here."
With that, I walk back into the store, a bounce in my step, ready to relax and actually explore.
The three of us head to the market once we've got our promised coin in hand. A red sunset casts a reddish glow over the darkening streets and buildings there, creating an interesting lighting schematic that somehow makes it feel less real. More dreamlike. The candlelit street lamps only enhance the strange effect.
Alejandro races from store front to market stall, one after the other, checking out the various trinkets and food options with the bright-eyed energy of a hyperactive five-year old. Meanwhile, Sofia returns to my side after ordering a small cup of dulce de leche from a nearby cart.
I watch, mesmerized, as she takes a spoonful of it with an excited smile. Her shoulders slump with a contented sigh at the tasting, her lashes batting shut in obvious appreciation.
She notices my staring and takes another small scoop, lifting it up to me.
"Wanna try?" she asks, holding her arm up still.
I smirk, bend forward, around her hand, and kiss her on the lips, slipping my tongue into her mouth shortly afterward to wind together with hers. The leche's lingering sweetness dances across our warm, caressing tastebuds—its wet, addicting decadence mixed with her soft, tingly closeness makes my heart go all aflutter, paired in one.
Pulling back, only because I know I have to, I purse my lips and peer up at the purpling sky. "Hm. It's good," I comment, then grin mischievously at Sofia.
Her cheeks flush bright red. Almost scarlet. Jaw agape, she gapes back at me, stiffly. "Ca-Camilo Madrigal! You-You-"
"Are a fantastic kisser?" I wiggle my eyebrows playfully at her.
Her blush gets even redder. This time her mouth sputters open and closed like a breached fish, no words coming out.
I burst into a fit of deep, belly laughter. Unable to stop myself.
Sofia smacks me in the arm immediately. Her cute, flustered reaction just making me laugh harder.
"What's going on here?" Alejandro interrupts, walking up with a bunch of food options, balanced in his arms. He squints at the two of us, then frowns. "Oh, wait. Ew. You guys are doing flirty stuff again, aren't you? On second thought, I don't want to know."
Spinning on his heels, he goes back to focusing on the market.
Sofia trails after him, chin held high, pretending to be unabashed, and grinning and shaking my head, I race forward to join her again at her side.
Bruno's lounging in an armchair, watching some romantic telenovela on a tv, when we get back to our room. "Oh, you're finally back?" He peeks over at us, not looking away from the screen long since he seems engrossed with whatever show he's watching.
"Yep. How was your day?" Sofia asks as Alejandro and I carry our food bags over to the dresser.
"Fine." He shrugs. "I managed to help out at a construction site for a bit. That was an experience."
Sofia steps closer to him and, furrowing her brow, reaches for pretty bad scrape covering his elbow.
"Oh? This?" Bruno lifts said arm to show it off more. "It's-It's nothing." He chuckles. "Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure? We have a few of Julieta's arepas . . . "
"Nah," he waves a dismissive hand. "I'll be fine! We should save those for when we really need it."
Sofia sighs in surrender, seeming to understand he's not going to budge. Not if we don't shove it in his mouth ourselves anyways, which I also don't think is necessary, because he's got a point.
Taking in the subsequent silence to glance around the room, I notice it only includes the armchair, dresser, tv, a nightstand, and a giant bed squashed in the center.
"Well, great talk. But tio Bruno, where's the rest of our room?" I ask.
Bruno's eyes widen. "Wha-What do you mean? This is the only room they had? They said it sleeps four."
My heart races, cheeks burn. "Wha-What? So-So you mean—"
I stare at the bed.
My mind goes blank.
That means . . . I'm going to have to share a bed with Sofia?
I imagine it for a second, her lying in bed, sleeping next to me, and my breathing hitches. Unintentionally, I shift between four different people before getting back to myself.
Alejandro bursts out laughing. "Don't get too excited there, okay, Romeo?" He gives me a teasing nudge that almost knocks me over, because I'm almost too tense to push anything back. "You'll be sleeping beside the rest of us, too. And I'll be the one wedged between you and my sister. You can count on that."
Despite whatever the inn owner's might claim, the bed given to us doesn't sleep four. Especially when such restless sleepers like Bruno and Al are included.
Stuck between the two of them, all night, they both keep me up in some unconscious tag-team with their constant snoring, rolling, and objectionably questionable kicking habits.
Honestly, it might be better if I just sleep on the floor. And by dawn, I'm tempted.
But a new day rises.
Exhausted from the lack of sleep, my arms and legs ache, as we help out at the store again, bellies full from fresh bread and juice at breakfast.
We're hauling some more crates out into the alleyway. Most of them stuffed full with different types of pottery and tools.
My back twinges as I plop another one down on the cobblestone, arms shaking from the heavy weight.
"This is ridiculous," I huff and shapeshift into the same villager as before.
My body still aches, but at least I'll be stronger now. Which will make this easier.
Sofia and Al both turn and gawk at me.
"Camilo! Stop! What are you-"
"Relax! You two worry too much!" I pass Sofia to slide my crate onto the cart. Whirling back around to face them, I shapeshift into me again.
A loud gasp comes from the entrance of the alley.
I jolt, and we all look over to find a round, middle-aged man with a dark, curly mustache and receding hairline gawking over at us.
My heart sinks.
I can't breathe. Can't move.
Everything stiffens.
Sofia turns invisible beside me.
"Run," Al whispers and grabs my shoulder.
Not wasting a second, he tugs me back, and we dash the opposite way, down the alley. The man's shouts echo behind us, telling us to stop, calling for help. As we near the end, the man's footsteps tapping in a rush behind us, Al glances back and throws one hand out.
A giant, striped cat appears in a flash between us and our pursuer.
It's meow, and our tailer's gasp, echo in my ears as we round the alley's corner. The second we do, Sofia reappears. Al grabs both of us by the arm and, in a blur, he teleports us back into our hotel room. We collapse in a pile across the floor, right in front of door.
Bruno immediately hops out of his chair, jumping back. "Wha-What the . . . ? What are you-"
"No time to talk! We need to go! Now!" Al snaps, standing up.
"What? But why?" Bruno frowns at him.
"Because. A certain someone couldn't stay out of trouble," Sofia scowls at me.
"I didn't see him there! Alright! I-"
"Enough!" Al spins toward me.
We both flinch.
"I don't care whose fault it is. What part of we need to go now, don't you guys understand?"
Storming over to our things, Al starts tossing our packs to us until he reaches our own. We then hurriedly exit the room, rushing down the stairs, out into the side alley where Bruno's tied up our cart. Al, Sofia, and I hop into the back like before, while Bruno gets up front to man the reins.
With a quick whip of it, he gets us moving forward. The wagon's wooden wheels bump across the cobblestone, making us all bounce in a matching, shaking rhythm.
As we near the entrance to town, there's a loud shout, "There they are!"
We whip our heads around.
Mr. Mustache, and two of his equally pissed off friends, glare over at us from down the way. One of them carrying a rifle.
My stomach drops.
"Bruno, go faster," Sofia says.
"Faster? Why?" He glances back over his shoulder, eyes bulging when seeing our chasers.
With another crack of the reins, our donkey picks up the speed. But the guys are too fast. They're gaining on us quick. By the time we're back on the dirt road, just out of town, our odds aren't looking good.
The man holding the rifle stops to take aim.
Sofia lunges forward to the edge of the cart, sending a tornado of wind, up at his feet. His gun flies high into the sky.
Immediately afterward, Sofia waves her arm, creating a wall of towering flame between us and the other two men. We hear their skids and shouts as we race away. Al then closes his eyes, grabs onto the cart, and teleports us further away.
The donkey brays, kicking back in forth in a panic.
I stare straight ahead, back at the town down the dirt road, that now lies far in the distance. Sofia's flames only just visible from this far.
"Hey! Hey! It's alright! We're okay," Bruno tries to comfort our stead. He finally calms down, and he gets him to continue his walk. Bruno glances back at us. "Anyone want to catch me up on what happened back there?" he asks.
"Consider this example A why we said it's important not to use your powers out in the open." Sofia sighs.
She slumps down against the cart's opposite wall from me, leaning her head all the way back.
Bruno frowns, first at nobody, then shifts to me.
I shrug. "I didn't think it'd be such a big deal!" I wave my hands out in front of me exasperatedly.
Al groans and lays himself flat on the wagon's floor.
"Well, now you know, troublemaker." Sofia smirks. "Looks like I won our bet, too." She snickers with a light tap of her foot against my leg.
I squint at her, unsure what she means.
"Remember? When you asked our chances of something going horribly wrong?"
"Yeah, but-"
"I never clarified in whose favor for the cause."
Her implication washes over me. "You were betting against me?" I gawp at her, eyes wide. "Ay, mi flor. How could you?"
"I was right, wasn't I?" She laughs. "Now, next time, maybe trust the rest of us before doing your own thing. Hm, guapo?"
I snicker at her compliment and tease and lower my head, cheeks tingling, heart warm but quivering.
Glimpsing up at her with a shy, returning smile, I nod.
We really work better as a team anyway.