If there was something Xibalba hated, it was being bedridden. Unfortunately, this was a recurring problem, since his epilepsy required him to rest a whole day if he had a seizure, or more depending on how grave the seizure was. This time, however, it was a bit more serious, considering he was sore all over, and he could barely shift in bed, let alone stand up, which made it a trouble to go to the bathroom. He required his servants' help to answer the 'call of nature', and it embarrassed him deeply.
He had to admit, though, La Muerte would be the perfect nurse if he ever needed one. She was helpful and compassionate, she'd bring his meals to his room and feed him, but at the same time he felt like a three year old child, and he didn't like it. Still, he was thankful for her attentions and he let her know indirectly. La Muerte knew a softer side of him, and was now certain that he was not the monster everyone thought he was. Sure, he was quite grumpy when the mood struck him, but overall he was simply misunderstood.
As he shifted with some difficulty, wincing at the pain in his articulations, Xibalba managed to sit up slightly in bed. La Muerte shifted his pillows so he could be comfortable, and carefully placed one beneath his hurt wing. His feathers bristled in discomfort, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
"If you keep moving like this, you'll take longer to heal." La Muerte told him, gently pushing him back unto bed when he tried to stand up.
"You expect me to stay here all day without doing anything?" Xibalba retorted with a growl as glanced at her, annoyed. "I don't want to leave all the paperwork stacked, it'll be a pain in the neck."
"Don't worry, I'll help you when you get better. But you're not getting better if you don't rest."
Knowing it was futile to argue, he sighed and allowed his body to gently rest back unto bed. There was a knock in the door. "Come in." Regina walked in, holding a tray with a bowl of hot soup, fried eggs and a cup of coffee.
"I've brought your breakfast, My Lord." She said gently, and noticed the annoyed look on his face. "Don't be like that, it could have been much worse!"
"Easy for you to say, since you're not the one who has to stay all day on bed."
La Muerte gently took the tray from Regina. "I'll take care of the rest, don't worry."
"I know, maybe he'll be less grumpy with you."
Xibalba looked away and grumbled something under his breath, refusing to look at Regina as she walked out of the room. La Muerte placed the tray on the bedside table and glanced at her husband. "What would you like to eat first?"
"Oh, no, mujer, I'm not that helpless." Xibalba tried to sit up, but his bones ached a soon as he tried to move and he had to lie back on bed again. "Damn it…"
"Keep complaining all you want, you can't move right now. Besides, how are you supposed to eat with one hand?"
"I can figure something out."
"Why must you be so stubborn about this?"
"I'm the one being stubborn?" When La Muerte glared at him with a fire in her eyes he didn't know she had, his common sense told him not to argue with her any longer. Xibalba sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll have the soup."
With a triumphant smirk, La Muerte carefully lifted the bowl from the tray and took a spoonful of it, lowering it to her husband's lips, careful not to spill any unto him, the least thing he needed was to get burned. "Open wide."
The dark god rolled his eyes, but he complied and accepted the spoonful into his mouth. He shivered when his tongue protested from the hot temperature, but he contained it. He felt his cheeks hot, and it was not because of the hot liquid inside his mouth. He was blushing. Wonderful, just wonderful, how could this possibly get worse?
La Muerte barely managed to contain a giggle when Xibalba blushed deeply, and crossed his arms (or rather, he wrapped his healthy arm around the other, casted one). It was a while before the bowl was empty, and she placed it back on the tray. "Would you like some coffee?"
"I think I can take a drink by myself, don't I?" Xibalba replied. "I don't need two hands to grab a cup of coffee. "
"Maybe, but you can't move much yet, remember? Your wounds might ache, and make you drop the cup unintentionally."
"Damn, isn't there anything I can do by myself?!"
This time, a giggle escaped La Muerte's lips when she noticed he was still blushing deeply. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed."
"I'm not embarrassed, mujer! I just don't feel comfortable with people doing everything for me!"
"You're blushing!"
"It's…" he tried to think of another explanation for the redness on his cheeks, but he could think on none. Knowing he had lost this discussion, Xibalba swore under his breath and looked away, still blushing.
La Muerte smiled sympathetically at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay if you feel embarrassment sometimes, it's nothing to be ashamed of."
"It shows weakness."
"Why are you so obsessed with that? Knowing you are not perfect and accepting you have your weak spots is no weakness. No one is invincible, not even you."
"It's not about that! I simply don't want everyone to know I have my… problems."
La Muerte cut off the fried eggs in bite-size slices, before lifting up a piece and lowering to her husband's mouth. He didn't complain as he opened his mouth and accepted the egg, licking the yolk off his lips. "How come you are still here taking care of me despite my tantrums, as Regina calls them?"
"You need me. It's not in my nature to abandon those who are in need, no matter how nasty or ill-mannered they are."
"You sure have a heart of gold, my dear."
Now it was La Muerte's turn to blush. "Everyone says I got it from my mother."
"Queen Esperanza, right?"
"You know of her?"
"Who doesn't? She was famous for her kindness before she died."
"Yeah. Even today, everyone still misses her… even my father hasn't overcome it."
"Say, La Muerte…" he felt like an idiot asking this. "Since we're apparently going to spend quite some time together, we might as well talk a bit about each other."
"I guess so. What would you like hear?"
"You could tell me about your mother."
La Muerte thought it was quite hypocrite that he asked her to talk about her mother when he refused to talk about his own, but she was not like him in that sense. Sighing, the goddess hugged herself and rubbed her arms. "I remember she always smelled of flowers, and she'd always sing a lullaby everytime me or my little sister couldn't sleep. Everyone loved her, she was a kind-hearted ruler and she helped all those who arrived gladly. She taught me many things, but she especially taught me about humans. She used to say that even though they were not perfect, they were perseverant and no matter how many times they fall, they always get back on their feet and keep trying."
Xibalba wanted to counteract her words about humans, but chose against it. "What happened to her?"
"That's another story. One day, she fell ill, and no one knew why. Months passed, she didn't get better; it came to the point that she became bedridden. Soon it became clear that she would not live much longer; I still remember the last time I was with her. Aimé was but a few months old, and I was five centuries old…."
It had only gotten worse ever since it started. King Sol was desperate; no one had been able to help his beloved wife. She lay bedridden, her flowing dark hair spread out onto their bed, her golden eyes were still full of life but overcome by exhaustion, and she had grown thinner as time passed. She didn't have much time left, she knew it, the last thing she wanted to do before she left this world, say goodbye to her two daughters.
Little La Muerte slowly walked into her parents' bedchambers, and found her mother on bed, exhausted and weak, almost contrasting her usual high-spirited and strong persona that her daughter knew so well. "Mamá?" She cautiously approached the bed, still clutching her doll to her chest. Her eyes widen further as she turns to her; these past few months La Muerte tried to refute her declining state, but she can no longer deny what are now hollowing cheeks and tired eyes.
Her reaction is no surprise, as it was hard enough for King Sol to witness his queen growing sicker by the day. Gods were immortal, but there were a few things that could take their lives, though very few knew of them, notably the Candlemaker, the guardian of the Book of Life, where the stories of every single being that breathed and had a heartbeat were written.
"La Muerte…" Queen Esperanza answers.
Gingerly placing her doll on the bed, she shakily crawls up to sit before her. Moments pass as she struggles to question what she's plagues by. "Are you… Are you getting better?"
She smiled kindly, her eyes softening apologetically. A deafening silence seeps through the air. Time screeches to a halt. The worst is far from over, but she almost wishes to prolong the bitter denial just to keep a sliver of hope. Better a sweet lie than a bitter truth.
Esperanza pursed her lips, turning her head slightly. "No, chiquita." She says softly.
"W-When w-will you?" La Muerte asked, her voice beginning to shake. Turning back to her daughter, Esperanza gently placed a hand upon hers, feeling the tremors in her skin. "M-mam-má…" the little goddess choked before she could say anything else. Tears spilled over and turned into rivers streaming down her cheeks, feeling the warm drops on her skin. "P-lease, t-tell me p-papá was l-lying, w-wasn't he? You-you promised me you-"
"Shhhh…" Esperanza coos, softly brushing her daughter's cheek with her fingers. "Don't cry…"
"He s-said y-you're d-dying… are you r-really…" Sobs wracked her tiny frame as she cried, and her storm is very much violent. "You c-can't die, you c-can't! You p-promised m-me!"
"Don't be afraid, my sweet little daughter. You're strong, you will be okay."
""H-How? Wh-what if I n-never-?" she tensed, struggling not to think of what she wants to ask.
"I will always be with you. I promise."
A gentle kiss is pressed to La Muerte's forehead, and she visibly relaxes at her mother's attention. Slowly her sobs turn into snivels. The doors creaked open, and the Queen's faithful handmaiden came in, holding a small, gurgling bundle of starry blankets in her arms. Esperanza smiled as she held out her arms for her baby girl. The handmaiden approached her Queen's bed and gently handed over the bundle to her. Esperanza removed a bit of the blankets, exposing the little head of a few months old baby girl, her hair was dark with streaks of blonde and she was shifting in her mother's embrace, big blue eyes looking up at her.
"Mi bebé…" Esperanza smiled sadly. "My little Amy… Be a good girl, sí?"
Little Aimé didn't understand why her mother sounded so sad, she simply let out small gurgling sounds as Esperanza planted a kiss on her forehead. A flash of gold caught the child's attention, and soon she was fidgeting with her mother's golden pendant, a gift from Sol for their anniversary.
"Mami…"
La Muerte snuggled against her mother's weakening figure, sniffing and burying her face against her mother's chest, while Esperanza pulled her closer with one arm, holding baby Aimé with the other.
"Mis niñas…" Esperanza smiled sadly at her children. "Be strong. Never forget what I've taught you. Treat everyone with respect and kindness, be honest and hardworking. As long as you do this, I will never leave your side, my sweet little daughters… I love you…"
Those were her last words.
"After she died, everything changed." La Muerte's voice was shaking, and she was trying her best not to cry. "Father became very protective of us, and he raised us to become proper ladies. I didn't like it at first, but I didn't want to argue with him either, so eventually I accepted it."
Xibalba was speechless. He didn't know what to say to that, or what to do, but the first thing he thought of was to gently grab her hand, blushing yet again as he did so. "I'm sorry…"
"It's okay." A few tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away.
The dark god didn't say anything else. He tried to think on something else to talk about. "So…" damn it, he had never been good at comforting people. "You don't like being ladylike."
"It's not that precisely, but… oh, who am I kidding?" La Muerte sighed, crossing her arms. "It's very stressful, people expect too much of you and you have to be 'perfect' in every single thing you do."
"You don't need to pretend you're perfect, my dear. Like you just said, no one is, especially me."
"You're not that bad. You're strong warrior, and you're determined, that's something to be proud of."
"Too bad you're the only one who sees it that way, dear La Muerte." Xibalba winced when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and clutched his bandages with grit teeth. "Damn it…"
"Try not to talk much."
"That's going to be a problem, my dear." When the pain flared again, Xibalba lied down back on bed and said nothing else as La Muerte continued to feed him what was left of the eggs. Once the plates were empty, the goddess pulled up the sheets to cover up the dark god.
"Is there anything else you need?" she asked gently.
"No, thank you. I'll be fine." Xibalba replied as gentle. "You should go take a nap, my dear. I wouldn't like you to get sick for not getting enough rest."
"I'm fine, Xibalba…"
"I insist. Believe me, it's not good to stay too much hours awake, I'm not happy to say I've experienced it a few times before."
La Muerte knew he was right, though she was reluctant to leave him alone. But then again he had Emilio and the others, maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a little nap, she was quite tired. She didn't know what came over her, but before she stood up she leaned in closer to Xibalba's face and planted a kiss on his cheek. Xibalba froze and his pupils nearly shrunk when he felt her lips coming into contact with his tarry skin, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red.
"Have a good rest, Xibalba." La Muerte said with a blush, walking towards the door and looking back at him one more time, before closing the door behind her.
His hand slowly found its way to his cheek, where she had kissed him. He gingerly touched the spot, still surprised by his wife's action. A few minutes later, a small smile drew across his features as he stared at the door.
"See you later, La Muerte…"
A few hours later, La Muerte woke up, much more refreshed, and decided to go see how Xibalba was doing, hopefully much better. It would take a few more weeks for him to completely heal, so she thought that perhaps he'd need some company, as well as a bit of help with his work, even if he refused at first. After combing her beautiful dark hair back into place, La Muerte placed her brush back on her dressing table, but as she was about to stand up she caught sight of her beautiful, jewelry box. She hesitated, but she lifted the lid and took out something from within. A beautiful golden pendant attacked to a black ribbon, which flashed gold with the light of the candles.
Queen Esperanza's pendant.
She recalled when her father gave it to her for her quinceañera. She used it in special occasions; it felt like her mother was there with her wherever she wore it around her neck. La Muerte couldn't resist, and she tied the pendant around her neck; everyone always said it looked beautiful on her, almost like her late mother. She touched the gold pendant sadly, before standing up and walking out of her chambers, towards Xibalba's. But as she approached the familiar doors, she heard footsteps coming from within, out of sudden the doors flung open and Emilio rushed out, looking scared out of his wits.
"Emilio?" La Muerte inquired in confusion at seeing the lizard so nervous. "Is something wrong?"
M-My Lady!" Emilio was equally surprised to see the Goddess. "W-Well… Lord Xibalba…"
"Did something happen to him?!"
"N-No! Not at all, it's just he… Well, for some reason we can't explain he got high fever and…"
Gasping, La Muerte gently made her way past the lizard and ran into the room, where she found Regina fanning her master with a fan, while Luis was just placing yet another bowl with cold water on the night desk, just next to a pile of cloths. Xibalba was sweating heavily, and he was apparently having a bad dream, since he was shifting in bed despite his injuries, gritting his teeth and whispering words that made no sense.
"What's wrong with him?!" La Muerte immediately ran to the side of bed and placed her hand on her husband's forehead; she became alarmed at his boiling temperature.
"He developed fever, but we don't know why." Regina replied, as worried as her Lady. "He's delirious right now."
La Muerte sat down at the side of bed and grabbed a cloth to damp it in the cold water and gently wipe the sweat on Xibalba's face. He shivered a bit, and his feathers bristled. "Could you make some peppermint tea?"
Regina thought for a moment. "I don't remember if we have any more left…"
"Yes, we have! There's some in one of the shelves, I can show you." Luis retorted.
As the two lizards left, closing the doors behind them, La Muerte was left alone with her delirious husband; she continued to damp the cloths and place them on his forehead to try and lower his temperature. She was quite experienced in this, she recalled taking care of Aimé when they were young and she'd fall ill, just like their mother would have done. Like her mother used to care for her when she got ill.
Xibalba started to mumble something inaudible, trembling, his eyes closed shut. He looked like he was suffering.
"Shhh. It's okay, I'm here…" La Muerte cooed gently.
"Mother…"
La Muerte froze when he said those words; what had he just called her? Then again, he was delirious because of the fever; he probably didn't know what he was saying. But he sounded so melancholic.
"Mother…" Xibalba whispered once more, clutching at his blankets. "Don't go… Don't leave me all alone…" he was sobbing? She never thought she'd heart him sob.
La Muerte felt compassion for him, and decided to give him a bit of comfort, at least for a while until he recovered. "Hush now, I'm not going anywhere…"
He seemed to relax a bit at the sound of her voice. Zipacna had been right when he said he had not overcome their mother's death, judging at how he was calling out for her. La Muerte stroked his head gingerly, and thought for a moment. Maybe… perhaps she could make him feel a bit better.
Think of me, think of me fondly
When we've said goodbye
Remember me, once in a while
Please, promise me you'll try
That was the lullaby her mother used to sing for her an her little sister, she remembered even after all these years, and held it close to her heart. Xibalba relaxed, and his breathing went back to normal, it seemed like her idea was working. Unconsciously, Xibalba grabbed La Muerte's hand gently, yet tightly, like he was holding his mother's hand. The goddess didn't mind at all, if she could make him feel better.
And when you find that once again you long
To take your heart back and be free
If you ever find a moment
Spare a thought for me…
