Miguel gleefully walked his way to the castle stables. it was early morning and he needed to give Altivo his breakfast. Well, he didn't have to, the castle had stable hands that would be more than happy to take care of Altivo but Miguel liked doing it himself, he already had been for over 20 years and he loved his old boy.
It was when he heard a desperate neighing that his stride faltered, and then he heard shouting. He quickened his pace and rounded the corner to see a young-stable hand trying to calm down Maximus (which they had met not long after he and Tulio had arrived in the kingdom).
He promptly ran over and shouted at the distressed horse and reached out to him, "Hey, Hey boy what's the matter? Calm down..." Maximus almost immediately stopped and let Miguel put his hand on his nose, but Miguel could still see the panic in the white horse's eyes.
He turned to the young stable hand and asked: "What's gotten him so worked up?"
"Oh Sir Miguel, thank God you're here. He just suddenly freaked out and tried to bolt but I stood in his way." The stable hand answered, reaching over and gently patting the horse's neck. "I've never seen him act like this before..."
Miguel nodded before turning to the Horse once again and whispering "What on earth could get you so worked up?"
This question seemed to take Maximus out of his trance before he reached his mouth out and grabbed Miguel by his shirt, before tugging him forwards. Miguel yelped but managed to keep his balance as he was pulled by the horse's immense strength.
"Woah, woah! Where is the fire?" Miguel asked jokingly but he could tell that something was bothering Maximus, and he needed him for some reason.
He was led to a place that he recognised by heart. It was Altivo's stable, but there was no sign of Altivo. Usually, he would wait by the door, every day Miguel went to see him and he would always be there sticking his head out excitedly waiting for an apple or two.
But there was nothing.
Something settled deep in the pit of Miguel's stomach, something dark and heavy. Maximus immediately let go when he felt Miguel pulling away from him and he watched as he saw Miguel rip the door open and run inside of the stable.
A loud audible cry was heard before Miguel once again raced out of the stable. The stable hand, that had followed the two, was pointed at and a loud shout was directed at him. "You! Get a doctor, get a vet or something, I don't care just get someone who can help, I think he's sick!" The boy barely had time to nod his head before he began running, to get anyone who could help.
Tulio, Eugene and Rapunzel we're all enjoying a very quiet breakfast.
That was odd.
"Hey papa, where's Dad? He's usually never late for breakfast." Eugene enquired.
"He woke up early to spend some time with Altivo, he probably lost track of time. He'll be here soon." Tulio responded, nonchalantly as he sipped his tea.
Miguel and his dumb horse, they had become almost inseparable the moment they met and it used to bug Tulio just how close the two were but after a lot of growing up, he realised it was just stupid. Altivo was family, Miguel loved him, Eugene loved him, even Rapunzel loved him. And, in his own way Tulio loved the dumb horse too. He'd grown on him like a rash, but he cared for him.
Tulio gave a gentle smile as he thought about his new family. He had another sip of his tea-
Before someone bursting into the room made him spit it out in surprise. He coughed as the three stood up to address the sudden intruder.
"Your majesties, I apologise for coming in so rudely but it is of the upmost importance!" The stable hand addressed as he panted heavily.
Tulio wiped his chin in slight annoyance, "Well go on then." He slightly snapped and the stable hand turned to face him specifically.
"It appears that you and Sir Miguel's horse, Altivo, is gravely ill. A specialist vet arrived 10 minutes ago."
A pregnant silence fell over the room before Tulio pushed his chair out and sprinted out of the room, Eugene and Rapunzel following shortly after, calling out after him, but Tulio could not hear them.
Only one thought was racing through his head as he ran through the corridor...
'Please be ok, Please be ok, Please be ok...'
Miguel sighed once again as he paced outside the stable, running his hands through his hair before letting out a frustrated groan and leaned again the stone wall. He slid down until he was sat up against the cold ground, putting his head in his hands.
The vet had arrived not long after the stable boy ran off and had wasted no time in pushing Miguel aside to do her job.
It had been 10 minutes and there was barely any noise coming from the locked door.
Miguel didn't know what to think, he could tell that Altivo had been a little slower lately in his movements, ate less and spent a lot more time lying down.
But when Miguel walked into the stable that morning and saw Altivo laying all too still on the floor, his heart dropped. How could he not recognise that the poor thing was sick? He had known Altivo for over 20 years and he knew his mannerisms off by heart.
He thought he was Dead... before he managed to see the faint rising and falling of his chest, which calmed him down but not by a lot.
A clicking sound brought Miguel out of his pit of despair as he shot up and consulted the vet as she walked out with a sad look in her eye.
...That wasn't good.
"So, did you figure out what the matter was? Do you know how to fix it? What kind of medicine will he have to take? How long do you think it'll take?" The questions pored out of Miguel like a water pump, before he was silenced by a hand in the air.
"Sir Miguel, I'm afraid this is something I can't fix with medicine." The vet said solemnly.
"Well what will it take,? Money is not an issue here, do whatever it takes." Miguel pleaded, his heart was pounding in his chest, he Prayed to whatever God existed that this could be fixed.
"Sir… I'm really sorry but I'm afraid I can't do anything about old age." The vet informed.
...What?
That's what it was?...
Oh god no...
"It appears to me that unfortunately Altivo's time is coming, but don't worry, we can make his last moments as comfortable as possible if we just..." Miguel wasn't listening anymore, his head was so empty that all he could hear was static, which drowned out almost everything else.
Everything except the pain.
The horrible, horrible pain that sunk its teeth into Miguel's heart and mind.
He could see the vets lips moving but he couldn't hear a word.
It was then that a familiar shout was able to cut through the static, he turned and saw Tulio, Eugene and Rapunzel running towards him.
He was surprised when his partner rushed to him and gave him a big hug. He could feel the heavy breathing chest pressed against him and he could hear Tulio trying to catch his breath.
But he couldn't feel anything, on the inside.
It was just a cold, dark and empty nothingness.
Tulio panted as he held Miguel close to his chest for a few more seconds before he could see Eugene and Rapunzel talking quietly to the vet, their faces dropping with every word they said.
He pulled back and looked Miguel in the eye, which had look in it he had seen before, and it scared him.
"Miguel? What's happened?" He reached a hand up before Miguel's gaze hardened and he pushed Tulio away from him, who almost fell to the ground if he wasn't able to catch his balance. Miguel stormed past him and walked off, not looking back once.
"Hey! Miguel, what the hell?! Get back here, what happened?!" He called out to him. He was about to run after him before a hand caught his shoulder, stopping him.
He looked back and saw Eugene. "I'll go after him, you should stay here and see to Altivo."
"Is he..?" He didn't wanna say the rest of that question but Eugene understood.
"Soon, he might not make it to the end of the day."
"Well, try and get him back before that. You know the idiot would never forgive himself if he didn't get to say goodbye."
Tulio nodded and gave his son and quick hand squeeze before he ran off, he sighed before looking back and seeing Rapunzel, looking quite sad.
He managed a small smile before walking over to her and bring her into a side hug, before turning to the vet. "Thank you for telling us straight." Who bowed before walking off, to get some blankets for Altivo.
He and Rapunzel walked into the stable and there lay Altivo, who looked like he was breathing very slowly.
He walked in further and sat in the hay by the old horses head. "Hey buddy," Altivo did open his eyes a little and looked up at him before letting out a weak noise. "Yeah I know, I bet you wanna see Miguel but he's being an idiot right now so you'll have to wait." He slowly reached a hand forward and petted the old horse's ears.
He heard a noise, he glanced over to see Rapunzel sitting next to him petting Altivo's neck.
"Hey, Rapunzel, why don't you tell him some stories of you and Eugene? I'm sure he'd love to hear them, the kid is his favourite." She smiled at him before once again starting the tale of how they first met.
Tulio really hoped Miguel got back soon.
After looking around the whole of the castle grounds for a good 45 minutes Eugene was getting worried his dad had run off outside of castle grounds, which would make finding almost impossible at least for him to say... goodbye.
But then he remembered, he had shown his dad a hidden garden that he and Rapunzel went to when they had some free time.
It didn't take long for him to find him after that, he was looking into the large fountain, with his back to him.
"Hey dad," he said as he walked forward towards him. No response, it was like he didn't know he was there. "You know, you made Papa really mad running off like that."
"Your fathers strong, he doesn't need me to hold his hand you know." Miguel responded, snapping slightly.
"I know, but you should have seen the look on his face when we got the news. They say he might not make it to tomorrow..."
"And? Things die all the time, he is over 30 years old, that's a good age for a horse."
Eugene sighed, but inside he was so confused. He had never seen his dad like this before, he was usually so emotionally open. But right now, he was acting like he didn't care, which couldn't be true, not in the slightest.
"Dad, why did you run away?"
"I'm not running away!" Miguel snapped, raising his voice quite a bit but still not looking at his son.
Eugene stood in shock, he could count on one hand how many times his Dad actually yelled at him, and now he had done it again.
He heard his dad take a sharp breath through his teeth and he saw his shoulders shake. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have yelled..."
"Dad, is there something else going on? Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" Eugene asked softly as he moved to sit on the fountain side next to his dad.
Miguel let out a weak chuckle as he looked up at his only son. He moved over and cup his cheek, "Look at you... acting like a Dad yourself..." He wiped the unshed tears from his eyes.
"Ok, Eugene, do you know why Tulio and I never talk about our parents?"
That question took Eugene by surprise. "No, to be honest I never even thought about it."
"Well it's because we don't like thinking about them, but for very different reasons." Miguel signed and stared at his own reflection. "But I think you're old enough to handle it now. My story at least, you'll have to ask Tulio yourself about his side."
"I lost all my family when I was very young, my parents were actually English, they immigrated before they had me and all my siblings. They had a small cottage in the north of Spain. I was the youngest of five, two sisters two brothers..." he stopped for a second to take a deep breath before he continued, "We didn't have a lot of money, but we were very happy. Until, One day my mom got sick. We couldn't afford a doctor but we took care of her as best as we could, but suddenly it spread to everyone, including me."
"It was just a cold, until it wasn't. We couldn't afford all the medicine we all needed because dad had to stop working. The only reason I recovered was because with every single last peso we had pulled together, we were only able to afford the tiniest amount of medicine and they... they gave it all to me. I had to watch as my whole family got weaker and weaker, until I found my brother dead."
"Then it was my sister the next day, then my other brother the day after that; and the day after that my mum and my final sister went. My dad was devastated, he cried and cried but he refused to let me anywhere near him because he was scared that he would give it to me again. He told me after he stopped crying, that I had my whole life ahead of me, that he loved me and that I should do what I love. He said he didn't care whether I became a big success, all he cared about was that I was happy and alive, that's all he wanted for me. He passed away not an hour later."
"I was just a kid so I didn't know what to do, so I packed up everything that I had, which wasn't much, and I ran away. I ran away and I never looked back, not long after I met your father. There was just something about him, something I didn't understand at the time but I just wanted to be around him and to make him happy, God knows he deserved it. The rest, as they say, is history..." Miguel finally finished his sad story, a Single tear dripped down his cheek and into the water causing his reflection to ripple and change.
Eugene was crying too because he couldn't believe it. His dad, The man who had raised him, who always had the biggest smile on his face and always looked on the bright side, had gone to such a horrific experience.
"Dad... I had no idea, I'm so-" Eugene tried to apologise but he was cut off by a hand in his face.
"Don't you go apologising, you had nothing to do with it. I haven't told that story in over 50 years. I've barely thought about it in over 50 years, because I had Tulio as a distraction, but now… it's all become so fresh again... I don't wanna say goodbye again..."
"Dad, you knew this day would happen, right?" Eugene prodded gently.
"Of course I did! But I never really thought about it because our lives used to be so dangerous and we never knew if we're gonna see tomorrow, so I tried to make every day count! With you and Tulio and Altivo and Chel when she was around, but now..."
"You always thought you'd never get to the point of seeing Altivo die of old age, so now that it is actually happening you don't know how to respond? Is that it?"
Miguel looked at his son in shock. He let out a small laugh before putting his hand on his shoulder, "When did my little boy get so smart?"
"Well, when you're dying you get a little time to really really think about things, my whole life flashed before my eyes and I realised something, I was never going to see you again. The last thing we did together as a family was argue, and it was over something so stupid." Eugene didn't like thinking about his near-death experience, but it felt like what his dad needed to hear. "Imagine if that was you, right now. You're dying and your life flashes before your eyes, and the last thing you ever did was run away from Papa and Altivo."
Miguel could only look his son in the eye while he said that to him. Then it took a second, to think about his life, his past, what had happened in the last couple of months and how his life had completely changed forever the second he laid eyes on that child in that alleyway.
He slid off the water fountain and held his hand out to Eugene. "I think I'm ready now..."
Eugene grabbed it and pulled his dad into a hug before ruffling his hair, not unlike Miguel did when Eugene was little, "You are so sleeping on the couch tonight, Papa was not happy with you, I was just able to stop him from running after you and possibly kicking your ass."
Miguel paled at that, "I don't doubt that son, I don't doubt that at all."
But before Miguel could walk off, Eugene tapped him on the shoulder and asked him a question, "Wait. So what's the reason you never mentioned Papa's parents?"
Miguel froze before turning to face his son and putting both hands on his shoulders, staring at him intensely, "Eugene, do you remember years ago when you told us you would hear screaming at night sometimes?"
Eugene nodded along, "Yeah, but they were just nightmares."
Miguel sucked in a breath through his teeth, "Well, not exactly. Tulio was actually the one having nightmares, and he would wake up screaming sometimes. We didn't tell you because you were just a kid and we didn't wanna worry you."
"Really? What were they about?"
"His parents, son. When I first met him he would have nightmares every single night that caused him to scream so loud that he wouldn't be able to talk the next day. As we got older they became less frequent but they haven't stopped, not even to this day."
Miguel suddenly got a dark look in his eye, it was the look of a man who had to do some horrible things to survive in the past.
"It's not really my story to tell Eugene. But let me tell you this, if I ever were to meet them in person; I wouldn't hesitate to try and kill them. Monsters like that don't deserve to live, do you understand Eugene?"
Eugene could only nod, what on earth could he say to that?
Miguel smiled and give his son a friendly pat on the arm. "Come on, those two are probably wondering where we are."
Eugene didn't hesitate to follow his father. Who even after all these years, he was still learning things about.
Rapunzel sighed as she once again glanced at the stable door. It was starting to get late and the boys were still not back.
"Don't worry about those two, they'll be back before you know it." Tulio popped up, not even bothering to look up as he combed Altivo's long grey mane. She watched with a soft gaze, this had been the most gentle she had ever seen Tulio with Altivo.
"You know, for someone who said animals hate him, you're doing pretty well there." She complimented as she patted the horse on his wet nose.
"Animals were always more Miguel's thing. You have no idea how many times Miguel tried to convince me to keep a 'pet' that he had found; but they would never stay long since they always hated me."
"Really?" Rapunzel asked, not knowing how deep the animal thing had gone on.
"I don't know but for some reason every animal that I've ever met has seemed to hate me for some reason. Except cats. I don't know, cats just like me I guess." Tulio shrugged as he struggles to get a particularly strong knot out of the long mane.
She shuffled closer and picked up another brush and started doing another section of Altivo's mane. "And yet this one stayed." She motioned to the exhausted horse. "Why?"
"Well personally I think it was Miguel more than anything. He has this kind of aura around him, he's just so nice and caring that for some reason you just can't ignore him. I could sense it and the animals could sense it."
"Awww," Rapunzel coos. "You really do love each other." She teased.
Tulio's face got a little pink around his cheeks before he huffed and carried on with the task at hand, "Of course I do, you really think I'd stay with the idiot this long if I didn't love him?"
"I could say the same about Eugene."
They both smiled at that, it was nice to know that Eugene had a girl who appreciated him and made him happy, Tulio thought. It was all he ever wanted for his son.
The two sat quietly before Tulio broke the silence "I hope you don't think bad of Miguel after this. Death is something he's never been comfortable with, due to his past. I hope you understand."
"Oh no, of course not. I used to get nightmares about Eugene's death all the time, it would be where I couldn't save him and I was just sat there hugging his cold dead body...I understand that death is a part of life but, besides from that, this will be the first death that I've ever experienced. And I can't magic him awake this time."
"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I don't know what I would do if I lost Miguel."
"Hopefully you won't have to think about that for a long time."
"Yeah, let's hope..." Altivo lifted his head slightly and locked eyes with Tulio, it was a look full of as much solace the horse could muster in his weakened state. Tulio gave Altivo a rueful smile, letting his hand run through the stallion's long silky mane.
"Hey, you said that death makes Miguel uncomfortable because of his past, why is that?"
"I'm sorry, Rapunzel. But I don't think that's my story to tell. But I will say it has something to do with his family, who are gone im afraid."
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologise, it wasn't your fault. Though sometimes I wish I had gotten the chance to meet them."
"I'm guessing that's why you haven't mentioned Eugene's grandparents before, until today,"
"Oh, I'm sure Miguel's parents would've loved him; and you for that matter."
"You really think so?"
"I know so, Miguel even told me you remind him of his mother sometimes." It was hard to not think of the similarities between her and Miguel.
"She was a kind soul as well." She and Tulio jumped as a voice was heard from the door. There stood Eugene and Miguel, who looked sheepish as he locked eyes with his husband. Miguel fully expected Tulio to stand up and slap him upside the head for the way he acted, so he was surprised when all he did was move aside and pat the spot next to him.
"About time you showed up, I've been braiding and re-braiding his hair for over 30 minutes." Tulio's face had broken into a smile but everyone could see how sombre he was on the inside.
Miguel didn't say anything as he and Eugene sat down next to their respective partners, Miguel looked at Tulio with an apologetic look in his eye. But before he could say anything, Tulio lifted a hand and said, "Don't apologise, Miguel. It's ok, I understand."
"No, I shouldn't have pushed you. I'm sorry." Miguel turned his head away in shame, but Tulio's hand quickly found his cheek and pulled him back to face him, "Miguel, I already forgive you. Right now, someone has been missing you a whole lot."
Miguel looked down and saw his second-oldest friend looking up at him. It sent a wave of fresh emotion and tears welled up in his eyes, "Hey there, old boy." He reached out and petted the horse's nose and he could feel Altivo making a feeble attempt to move his head closer to it.
"Oh Altivo, I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier, I just..." Miguel couldn't even think of a good excuse, so he said nothing. "Well, I'm here now boy. And I bet your hungry huh?"
"We offered him some apples before but he wouldn't touch them," Rapunzel commented. "We thought he might eat a little, if you gave it."
"Aww, you must be so hungry." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red apple that he had almost completely forgotten about, "Want an apple?"
Altivo eyes brightened as he was offered his favourite snack. He lifted his head up as much as possible and slowly but eventually ate the whole thing.
The four people stayed there all day and when it got dark, blankets and a little fire was brought by the servants, and the family just talked into the late night. Nobody left when they got tired. They just cuddled up to Altivo and fell into a deep sleep.
Miguel was the last to fall asleep.
As he laid down at the horse's side and got comfortable, he whispered to the still awake Altivo.
"You've stayed by our side till the very end old boy... You watched us become gods, watched Chel get married, helped us raise a child, kept us going when we thought he was gone and was there when he came back to us... You were there though all of it."
Miguel could feel sleep taking over him, he reached a hand up and put it to the horse's chest and felt his slow heartbeat.
"You are a good horse Altivo... Rest now, old boy..."
And just like that, Miguel was fast asleep.
Altivo lay awake though. He thought about his life, how he wished he had broken free of Cortez years ago and met the two idiots he called family earlier but overall, he had had a good life.
He closed his eyes.
In the dark of night, God's finger touched him, and he slept.
Forever...
Tulio was the first to wake, and he knew immediately the second he woke.
He leaned up and placed his hand on the horse's cold neck and for the first time since Eugene disappeared, He wept freely.
He tried to keep his pain quiet but it eventually woke the others and then they too shared in his pain and wept with him.
He was given an open funeral, open to all staff of the castle and anyone who wished to come.
Altivo was cremated shortly after.
He was put in a specially made Urn that showed many of the adventures he was a part of and on the front was a group picture of him and his family, from when Eugene was young.
Most would scoff at the idea of having all the special attention given to a horse of all pets.
But Altivo was no ordinary pet.
He was a friend, one who would be sorely missed.
