Ramon sits in the Great Hall, he is poking a fire, tending to it and staring into the dancing flames as if they hold the answer to the future and will tell him that everything will be okay. As he is sitting there, without looking, he speaks up, "You guys couldn't sleep either?" He asks, he doesn't have to look to know that practically Mirabel's entire family, minus Felix and Antonio are standing behind him, "Don't blame you."

Julietta finds her voice first, "What happened earlier today, it was…unspeakable. Why did it have to happen?"

Ramon sighs, "It was the law, he was former soldier of the enemy that we had beaten, when we took over the capital and Mirabel was named Queen, there was a lot of pressure to just kill the captured soldiers that we had in enemy camps. She pointed out that they had committed no crimes and certainly had done nothing that warranted a death penalty. They were all given a choice, they could swear fealty to her, and their lives would go on as if nothing had happened, or they could choose to spend the rest of their lives in the mines or get their sword hands cut off. Almost all that didn't swear fealty went to mines, a few had their sword hands cut off however, not sure which of the two I admire more to be honest."

Isabela looks down, "But she took his life so casually, when he was helpless, like she had done it before."

Ramon looks at them, "She always said that if she kills, it would either be in the heat of battle or dwelling out justice. Never in anger, to kill in the heat of battle would be one thing, to kill when executing criminals is one thing, to kill in anger, hatred, or rage is something else entirely. My belief on her being able to stick to that was tested when a soldier of our own, he was a big man, huge, strong, vicious in battle. I never seen a more perfect killer. He brought the bodies of the children of the men who held the throne, one boy at age ten, another a girl at the age of seven. He presented them to her like trophies, the boy's skull was crushed open, his brains hanging out and all that blood, the girl's body, it was stabbed so many times, I saw a murderous rage enter Mirabel's eyes, she wanted to gut him, to make him die a slow and painful death for killing those two innocent children. She reached for her sword for a split second, then she took a breath and called for the guards and commanded them to take him to the mines. Because of her own anger, she never brought herself to allow herself to execute him. I never seen anyone act with such restraint before then."

Luisa frowns, "And now, she'll march off to war again, but she is the Queen, surely she has no business fighting."

Ramon smiles, "I can see why you would say that, but the question is, are you saying that because she is the Queen or are you saying it because she is your little sister? War changes a person, some of you, your gifts, would be very valuable in a war, it would, but she will never accept that. Not because you are her family, but because she doesn't want her people to rely on gifts of magic and miracles. Why have the farmers pray for rain, why dig deeper wells for a drought, when we can just have Pepa go and make it rain wherever it needs to rain? Why work hard to grow food when Isabela can grow the food for them? Because, here, a man or woman earn what they get, they don't just get it given to them." He thinks for a second, "Luisa, the donkeys in the village were constantly getting out right? You always had to take them back to the fence, why is it then that the owner simply did not build a better fence to keep them fenced in, why did you carry donkeys every day when there was a much better solution? Because he didn't have to, why would he when you would just carry the donkeys back. This is what Mirabel was talking about, Encanto selfishly relies on the gifts that a single family has to do their work for them."

The room is silent besides the crackling of the fire, they cannot deny that the people could have worked to make improvements of their own life, I mean they literally have asked Luisa to move churches and reroute the river before, why? What purpose did moving a church serve?

Ramon speaks up once again, "I can't sleep, because she has asked me to remain here to guard all of you, since I am her best and most trusted soldier, I asked her if that was a favor from my sister or a command from my Queen. She told me, 'I would like for it to be a favor from your sister, but if it must be a command from your Queen, then so be it.' I knew then that nothing I could say would sway her into letting me go with her."

The others all look at each other, people strive to be better and to do better when they have to do something and not just because they want to do it. The people who rely on the Madrigals have an easy life, but that easy life comes with a price, only the Madrigals are the ones that pay that price, not them. They all frown, feeling upset and angry at that.

Dolores speaks up, "You know what, Mirabel should just let whoever is going to invade Encanto just invade it then."

Ramon shakes his head, "You would not say that if you have seen the horrors of war. In war, men are killed, women are taken away to be raped, children are thrown from walls or left in the wilderness to die. Mirabel has seen all of that, that is why she would fight an entire army single handedly if she must before she merely steps aside and lets Encanto be invaded."

Camilo decides to speak up, "But what about those who are old enough to make our decision to fight. I am the same age as her, I should be able to make my choice in being able to fight. So why can't I fight?"

Ramon sighs, "Because you don't have to fight, physically, you are the same age, emotionally and mentally…" He shakes his head, "Take it from me kid, outcasts, soldiers, and well, people like who your cousin is or who your uncle was, they grow up faster than others, they make the harder choice for the benefit of the whole at the sacrifice of themselves. Mira has learned how to die a long time ago, you don't even know how to fight, let alone why you should fight. Mirabel has learned both of those things. Some say that before you see your first battle, you should even try dying, of course, that's horseshit." He smiles lightly, "But I suppose, there wouldn't be any harm in teaching you how to fight, should it ever become necessary that you need to fight. Mirabel spoke quite highly of you, saying that since you two were so close in age, you shared the nursery together until you got your powers, the same being true of Antonio, of course, I won't be teaching him how to fight, not with swords anyway, I may teach him how to shoot a bow though. Hunting is important too."

Julietta frowns, "What do you mean outcast? Mirabel was never an outcast." She narrows her eyes at him, wondering what ideas or other things that he might have been filling her young daughter with

Ramon sighs, "Just because you don't want to face an uncomfortable truth is no reason to act ignorant, the fact that Mirabel was born from you kept Alma from declaring Mirabel a bastard and kicking her out of Encanto, but that is the only thing that it did. The truth is that none of you protected Mirabel. Not when it mattered, and I don't mean you Antonio, you were five, there was nothing that you could have done and Mirabel knows that, but so many of you stood idly by and watched as Alma disregarded Mirabel completely. Anyway, I can teach you guys how to fight, but I can't tell you why to fight. As for Mirabel, I tried to get her to go home when we first met, I did, I didn't want to see some kid who didn't have to fight die on the battlefield, she was determined to learn, she's not a child anymore, she stopped being a child after she killed her first man." He looks at the flames dance, "When you watch someone die, it's natural in a way, someone older than you will always eventually die, regardless something changes in you from that, but when you kill someone, it changes you fundamentally. I hate to tell you all this, but you don't know Mirabel anymore, not really."

Julietta speaks up, "Then tomorrow, I'll get to know my daughter all over again."

Ramon laughs, "I got to warn you, since she grew up around soldiers, she can be rather crass now. It's funny, the first time that she used swear words to try to fit in, but ultimately turned red and look behind her as if expecting her mother to appear to suddenly punish her and all that. It was adorable really. Anyway, after a bit, she got used to it."

Isabela speaks up, "But as Queen, shouldn't she have like perfect manners and rule by example or something?"

Ramon nods his head, "Yes, she should, and she does, when she is playing the role of a Queen. You know all about playing a role Isabela, around the soldiers and her personal guard, when it is just them, she can let her hair down."

Luisa asks him, "Will you really stay here while Mirabel goes off to fight?"

Ramon shakes his head, "Probably not Luisa, oh, she'll rant and rave once she finds out, how she gave me an order, how dare I disobey her and how do I think she feels when she will have to punish me in some way, but in the end, we'll laugh about it later on. It's my job to protect her after all. It's my job to be the strong one when she can't be."

Julietta looks at him, "So your job, where my daughter is concerned, or where you are concerned for my daughter, is to simply be strong and to protect her?"

Ramon smiles slyly, "Kind of, but that's not the entire story, basically, the pursuit of happiness isn't for us, the job we must give to ourselves now is to go on and preserve for the future generation to come. In an ideal world, everyone would be able to marry for love, Mirabel no longer lives in that world, that is ironically what she ended up giving up when she left home in search of her own greatness, to be able to marry for love, have children who can marry for love. All that is gone now, there is no taking it back. I won't ever marry, partially due to my vows, the other part is, even if I were allowed to get married…I wouldn't, Love is the death of duty, but duty is love."

Isabela realizes something that perhaps the others, perhaps even Ramon doesn't, at least not completely, "You love her. You really do love her."

Ramon looks at them as her words hit him and he sits there, "Possibly, not much to be gained from admitting it though, we could never be married. My honor would never allow me to father a bastard either. I'll merely have to be content with being her sworn shield and her brother and protecting her with my life."

Luisa looks confused, "Sworn shield?"

Ramon smiles, "She would never call me that or ask me to be one, but it is the process in which my entire life is dedicated to her protection and her protection alone and should she die and I simply failed to protect her, then my life would basically be forfeited, not in the sense that I would be executed or anything, but I would strip myself of my armor and leave the Kingdom."

Isabela looks at him sadly, "Where do you see your life in say ten years from now?"

Ramon looks at her, "Ten years, hmm let me think about it." He thinks for a minute, "Mirabel would be married by then, most likely would at least have two children, perhaps more, depending on the ages that they are, I may start training them to fight, using sparring swords and such. As they grow, they will be betrothed to help secure the alliances with other kingdoms, or maybe be given holdings of their own within the Kingdom being entrusted to restore some of the ancient ruins perhaps. The poor can marry for love, the nobles cannot."

Isabela looks at him, "And when the poor loves a noble?"

Ramon sighs, "Then the poor had better learn to love someone who is also poor."

Isabela shakes her head, "A man doesn't choose who they love, they simply love who they love and that is it." She stops for a second, because she doesn't want to crush Dolores's hopes completely, "But, I suppose that doesn't mean that a man can't learn to love someone else. I mean, I am sure married people who simply have a deep affection for each other learn to love each other all the time."

Dolores has a weak smile on her face, "Thanks Isabela."

Isabela smiles, "While Marino isn't an idiot and really is a nice person, truthfully, I think that he has so much love inside and that he just wants to share it with someone else. So, if you get him to notice you, it may end up working out for you right away." She thinks for a second, "On second thought, he may actually be dumb enough to say, 'Let's get married' right away."

Ramon ignores the happier topic of reassurance, prospect of marriage, learning to love, children, the future, that future, is forever out of reach for him. He pokes the fire again and in it, he watches the dancing flames as his mind recalls the sounds of sword clashing, arrows flying. Some say that arrows fly without a sound, but one never forgets the sound of a whoosh that they hear when an arrow flies past their head, just inches from embedding itself in their head instead. War is glorious and gory, fortunately war is so horrible, otherwise, we could fall in love with it. He doesn't hear the goodnight from the others, he doesn't hear them leave the room to go to bed. He just remains, sitting there, staring at the fire, hoping for an answer on what will come next, considering that he may not be there. He knows Mirabel, she will do everything in her power to make sure that he doesn't sneak onto the convoy and will obey her orders, even if he told her family that he would ignore Mirabel's orders to protect her. He hates saying or thinking it, but they don't really matter to him, they may be related to Mirabel, but they are strangers to him, Mirabel is his sister, Mirabel was the one who stood beside him, who had bleed next to him, who he had protected in battle, who had also protected him. She was the one that made sure that he remained human and didn't lose himself to grief and quit living or became a monster that loved killing.

Ramon remained, sitting there, his memories of battle and the sounds of it, the feeling of the fire poker in his hand, almost like a sword. He keeps poking the fire and then after the fire goes out, he continues to poke the ashes. As much as Mirabel's family is a stranger to him, Mirabel is a stranger to them as well, that is the most tragic part in all of this. He remains, unable to sleep. He hears others arrive just as people come in, for their last breakfast, he looks up, exhausted as Mirabel walks into the room, circles beneath his bloodshot eyes as he feels the burn of them adjusting to the light of the day.

Mirabel looks at her most trusted soldier, her best friend, her brother in all but blood, she knows that worry and fear had kept him up all night, she speaks to him in a gentle voice, "Ramon, eat some breakfast with us, then go to bed."

Soon enough, they are all gathered around the table, the guards who will go with Mirabel, acting as soldiers, her mother, will also come with, acting as her ambassador to officially become mayor of Encanto and take over the city. There will be no stories shared, no talks of the future, the stillness, the very quietness before going off to battle, is one of the most eerie quietness in the world, as if the world itself was holding its breath in fear for the horror that is about to come.

Isabel breaks the silence, because she has a few questions, "What happens while you are gone to Encanto Mirabel? What are my duties?"

Mirabel speaks up, others begin to whisper, she frowns, it is only natural that Isabela would want to do a good job in her place, "The council will help you run the kingdom itself, should the time come when the Queen's justice is needed, you must decide what must be done. You must however make the decision that you can live with, no matter how hard it may be. Ramon here, will carry out the sentence that you order, should you feel that you yourself are not ready."

After breakfast has ended, the convoy is made ready, Mirabel climbs up onto a white horse, dressed in light silver armor that glows in the morning sun, sword at her side, all the members of her family have gathered around to see her off, she knows that many of them have questions, of either what has happened in the past, or will happen in the future. So many answers that they don't have time for right now. She looks at them, "The next time we're all together, we'll talk about everything, I promise." She begins to ride off.

Isabela watches her sister go, no that's not right. The person that she had just seen move to the lead the convoy. She didn't look like her little sister anymore, she can no longer deny it, she looked like a heroine. For the first time, for the first time, she realized why Mirabel was made the queen. It wasn't just about making hard decisions like cutting a man's head off when duty demanded it. It was because that she had been making hard choices all her life. A fact that they all took for granted until Mirabel was gone. There will be time for talking later after Mirabel returns. Before now, she feared that there was a chance that she wouldn't, but seeing her on her horse, glowing in her armor, sword at her side, words barely spoken, but a promise made. Mirabel always kept her promises. So, beyond a shadow of a doubt, beyond anything else, Isabela is sure of one thing. Mirabel will return to them all. If not for the sake of their family, then for the sake of the Kingdom itself