Chapter Eight:

Mirabel smiled awkwardly at her tia as they approached the hotel room that she was sharing with her hermanas and prima, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Do you want me to look into your mother's side of the family and see if we can't figure out what we talked about?"

Mirabel frowned remembering the conversation, magic was recessive, her father had been a carrier of the recessive gene through his mother, her Abuela, who had passed her magic on to her tia Valentina, or Tia Tina as she wanted to be called. Her mother had obviously had been a carrier of the recessive gene as well, for her to have been born of magic.

Of course, they had only came to that conclusion after Mirabel had told her about the Miracle and Candle and gift ceremony, which had lead to her telling her about her Abuelo and how the Encanto had been found and how the miracle happened.

Tia Tina had then told her something that changed the whole story. There was a chance that Abuelo had had magic, and the miracle, the candle, the gifts, Casita, it could have all been a spell to help protect his family and loved ones. She wasn't sure why Casita would have fallen, or how Mirabel had been able to bring it all back, but she promised to find out. She said she knew someone who would know the answers, someone who knew all the answers.

"You know what, I think that would be something the whole family would be interested in," Mirabel finally said, "I'll see you tomorrow Tia Tina, buenas noches."

"Buenas Noches," Valentina said, waving good bye to Mirabel as she leaned forward and knocked on the bedroom door.

Dolores, Isabela, and Luisa were in the process of getting ready for bed as they talked about the day, and what they wanted to do tomorrow.

"I get why Mama and Papa want to go to Mirabel's open day," Isabela was saying, "But it's going to be so boring."

"That's what you said about going to the open day for the local college," Luisa pointed out, "I saw your application, you have a full schedule already."

Isabela shrugged, "I didn't know that they offered so many interesting classes," she admitted, "Besides, I'm sure your schedule is just as..." she was cut off by a knock on the door, "That must be Mirabel back from her talk with Tia Valentina."

"She prefers Tia Tina," Dolores announced, "She claims that Valentina is too much of a mouthful."

Isabela rolled her eyes at her prima as she went to the door and opened it, helping Mirabel maneuver around the furniture until she was next to the bed that she would be sharing with her tonight, "So what did Tia Tina want to talk to you about?"

"Remember that really weird statement she made at dinner, about her lessons being magical?" Mirabel asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Luisa spoke up, stopping braiding her hair for the night to look at her, "Why?"

"She wasn't kidding," Mirabel stated, "She's a stitch witch, I get it from Pa's side of the family."

"You'd think that we would have noticed that Papa had magic," Isabela muttered.

"It's recessive," Dolores retorted, "Your parents are both carriers, and Mirabel's the one who inherited it."

"So glad you eavesdropped on my private conversation Prima," Mirabel said grumpily, giving her prima a dirty look.

Dolores shrugged, "Just keeping a close ear out for you, doing my Primaly duty. Besides I found your tia's theory of where the miracle came from really interesting."

"What theory?" Luisa asked, now leaning forward eagerly.

"The theory that Abuelo Pedro might have been a wizard of some kind," Mirabel explained, "It explains where my magic comes from and the miracle. Tia's promised to look into it."

"It will be so cool if it turns out that he was one, because you know, that will make you his true heir, because you inherited his magic," Isabela exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess," Mirabel muttered.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, the family all met downstairs in the breakfast room, they ended up pushing several tables together so that they could all sit together.

"Well, I believe that the first thing that we want to do today is the open house for Escuela de Moda," Abuela announced, "But what do we want to do after that."

"We need to stop by the local college," Isabela insisted through a mouthful of egg, "So that Luisa and I can turn in our applications."

"You filled out your applications already?" Mirabel asked, impressed, "What about the essay?"

"Just because I'm not as smart as you doesn't mean that I can't write a short essay in a couple of hours," Isabela insisted.

"Excellente," Abuela exclaimed, clasping her hands together, "I'm so proud of you and Luisa, for deciding to further your education. I'm sure that it will be a blessing for you and will help the family grow and prosper."

"What about Dolores?" Camilo asked, "Are you disappointed that she didn't choose to attend college and further her education?"

"Camilo," Pepa hissed, but her eldest son didn't listen, glaring at Abuela.

"That's what you seem to be applying," Camilo insisted.

"I am not applying anything," Abuela insisted, "I think it is wonderful that your primas want to continue their educations, that is all I am saying. I would be just as proud of what ever decision Dolores makes for her future, rather it be to take lessons somewhere, get a job, or to simply become a house wife. All I care about it that you are happy."

"Sure you are."

"'Milo, drop it." Mirabel pleaded, "Abuela's trying to do better."

"I still don't understand how one apology can make everything good," Camilo muttered.

"Let's focus on the plans for today," Julieta insisted, stopping the argument between the two teens before it got out of hand, "Yesterday several of you were interested in going to the amusement park, we can do that or go shopping."

"Really that's the only options we have, Abuela told us to pack for a week, it's only the second day, and all that we have left is Mira's school and shopping?"

"That's not true," Pepa insisted, "Your Tio Bruno wanted us to go to a play while we are here."

"And I wanted a spa day," Luisa added.

"There's a pretty awesome museum here that we should check out too," Isabela offered.

"See," Mirabel insisted, "A museum, a spa day, shopping, and an amusement park, plus I wouldn't be surprised if we go to the zoo again while we are here."

"The museum won't take all day, and we didn't know about the amusement park until we got here, so why did we plan a week."

"Camilo," Felix snapped, "We planned a week so that we would have time to do everything we wanted. The Amusement Park probably will take a couple of days to explore, aren't you glad we planned enough time to go there?"

"We could just head back home without going," Pepa threatened, "You know, if you don't behave."

Camilo groaned, "Fine," he muttered.

After breakfast the family headed to Escuela de Moda, which was decorated with bright banners over the doors. Escuela de Moda had a smaller campus then the local college. There were several teachers there, but there weren't as many people looking around as there had been at the other college the day before.

Professor Ruiz smiled as he saw the Madrigal family and carefully made his way to them, "Uh, Senora Madrigal, Senor Madrigal," he exclaimed happily, before turning to Mirabel, "And this must be Mirabel."

"You can talk to me, you know that right, my back's broken, nothing else," Mirabel muttered, giving him a glare.

"Right sorry," he said, "I'm glad you were able to make it today. I've talked to your counselor, Senora Rojas, she would like to meet you."

"Gussie!" a new voice called out, causing Agustin's face to turn bright red.

"Please, Valentina, don't call me that, we aren't ten anymore."

"It's Tina, and I'll call you Gussie if I want to," Valentina insisted, "Unless you want me to call you Aggie instead?"

"No," Agustin insisted, "That's name reserved for Julieta only."

"I take it that you know each other already?" Professor Ruiz asked.

"For all but the first fifteen months of my life," Valentina insisted, "The best fifteen months of my life too, I might add."

"She's my tia," Mirabel explained, as her father stuck his tongue out at his older sister, "If you can't tell by now."

"Come on," Tina said, "Let me show you to my office, so that you'll know how to find me once school started. My door's always open, unless I am with another student, but I do hope that you stop by often to visit."

Tia Tina's office was the size of a classroom at Encanto School, with a sewing machine set up in the corner and a large blackboard set up on one wall. Mirabel probably would have thought it was a classroom if it wasn't for the sewing machine, and the dress forms set up around the room instead of desks.

"Sorry," Tina offered, closing the door behind them, "Usually do things one on one here, don't have many places to sit," she confessed as she pulled out a heavy tapestry and hung it over the door, before closing the windows and drawing the drapes.

"What did you just do?" Dolores asked, "Everything just went quiet?"

"Noise blocking spell," Tina explained casually, "This room is now completely sound proof, no sound can get in or out until I move the tapestry and curtains back," she insisted, leaning against her desk, "I wanted to tell you that I talked to my friend, and we were right. Pedro Madrigal was a pretty powerful Magician."

"Cool," Isabela insisted.

"What," Abuela gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"Magic is recessive," Mirabel announced, turning to Abuela, "For me to be born with magic, then both of my parents had to have had the gene, Papa got it from his Mama, but I was curious about where Mama got it from."

"Judging by what happened the night you lost your husband," Tina spoke up, "We figured that there was a good chance that he was a magician as well. I did some checking and discovered that he was a registered member of a secret magicians club."

"Therefore Mirabel got her magic from her Abuela on Papa's side, and Abuelo on Mama's side," Isabela concluded.