She started stirring awake when the sunlight gingerly brushed her face, feeling all warm and cuddly, tangled in the blankets. She felt unusually warm, and snuggled against her covers and pillows seeking more warmth, pulling the feathery cover on top of her… wait, feathery? Since when were blankets made out of feathers? Shifting against the mattress once more, La Muerte cracked her eyes open. To see what was going on. Meanwhile, Xibalba was pulling back his pillows and cushions closer, until he took notice of something, he felt tangles of hair between his fingers, and tickling against his neck and chin, not to mention that apparently his right wing was trapped beneath all of those pillows, and there was a weight on his arm. Frowning, he slid his eyes open just as his wife was opening her own eyes, and they found their faces a few inches away from each other…
Wait, what?!
On closer inspection, they realized they were all snuggled up.
"POR DIOS!"
"DEMONIOS!"
As they cried out in bewilderment and surprise, when they tried to pull away from the other they didn't realize they were close to the edge of bed, and fell down the floor, tangled up together in the silk blankets. As soon as La Muerte was free of the cocoon she pulled the blankets closer to cover her upper body, her face all red with embarrassment; Xibalba had equally shifted away from her in a rush, taking his bathrobe and putting it on in a flash, all the while looking away with flaring cheeks.
"I'm sorry, I-!"
"What the hell happened?!" La Muerte shrieked, crawling away from her husband and scanning the surroundings for her robe.
"How am I supposed to know?!" Xibalba retorted, standing up, still his sight from her. This was very embarrassing, he didn't know how her father would have reacted if he had seen this. Not well, that was for certain, though he internally snickered in imagining his expression. He was quick to regain his composure as he held out a hand blindly for his wife to help her stand up.
La Muerte didn't know what she was thinking, but she accepted his hand and managed to stand up, still covering herself in her blankets. "I guess the pillow fort didn't work after all…"
"Must have had some weakness…" Xibalba muttered, still too embarrassed to look at his wife.
"Don't worry about it, I'll just…" Finally spotting the robe, La Muerte put it on and headed for the bathroom to get dressed. "Dress up, okay?"
"I'll be out here, dressing up too."
As she disappeared behind the bathroom's door, Xibalba cursed his luck, why the heck did he have to get himself into his situations?! Thank heavens no one had seen that, he would never hear the end of it. He had to admit, though, La Muerte felt very warm and comfortable in his hold, even though he hadn't actually planned what happened. Heck, he could hear Epona laughing and teasing him about it. As he dressed up back in his armor and cloak, he chose to wait outside the room, not wanting to have another embarrassing… situation. Human servants passed by him, some giving him the corresponding bow, but he ignored most of them, he had no love for humans, Mexican, Egyptian or otherwise. A few moments later, La Muerte finally came out of the room. Xibalba glanced at her and nearly gaped, she was wearing an Egyptian kalasiris gown, colored a beautiful white that contrasted her lovely skin, and a creamy shawl patterned with stars and intricate patterns on top of her shoulders, as well as dark sandals.
She noticed the way he was looking at her. "What? Say something!" she teased.
Xibalba reacted, and looked away with a blush, bringing his hand to the back of his head. "Sorry, I… Well, you look beautiful in that gown…"
This time it was La Muerte's turn to blush. "Gracias. Ma'at said it would be more comfortable in this climate." She glanced at her husband's clothing. "You should wear something fresh."
"Please, the day I wear a skirt the pigs will fly."
"Don't you already wear one?"
Xibalba turned at her with an offended expression, taking a hand to his chest in feigned annoyance. "Hey! It's a cloak, it's different!"
La Muerte giggled. "Don't be like that, you know I'm just kidding."
"By the way, my dear, how about we take a stroll around here? I'm not supposed to meet with Osiris until later, and believe me, there's much for you to see here."
"Well, I was thinking on taking Blanca a treat…"
"Sounds good. Besides, I better warn the stable hands that Medianoche is a bit… fussy."
"Fussy?"
"Luckily, you won't get to see what I mean if we hurry."
Intrigued, La Muerte followed her husband, and as they approached the corridor that led into the stables, she could hear a commotion going on. As soon as the marble floor changed into stone, she saw various stable hands attempting to subdue Medianoche, who was neighing and rearing up like crazy, nearly frightening the other horses, Blanca included. At the sight of his horse being 'altered'. Xibalba stepped forward.
"Stop!" he snapped at the stable hands. The humans quickly retreated and made way for the dark god as he approached his horse, and soothed him down. "Shhh, it's okay, chico. Soo…" He patted Medianoche's neck and stroked his head, until the stallion had calmed down.
"What happened?" La Muerte asked one of the Egyptians. But she was confused when the human spoke in an incomprehensible language; of course, they didn't speak Spanish. She turned to Xibalba for some help. "Xibalba…."
"I may know a lot of cultures, my dear, but Egyptian language is beyond my comprehension." Xibalba sighed, giving his horse a sugar cube to calm him down.
"What do we do, then?"
"Well… I could show you around the realm, it's a beautiful place, especially the borders of the Nile… when there are no crocodiles, that is, though Sobek is not very likely to send his crocs to attack anyone unless he is very pissed at someone."
"I think I'd rather take a look at town."
Of course she would be more interested in the humans. But well, at least it was something, he didn't mind as long as he got to spend some time with her; besides, he knew Set, that hijo de perra was probably waiting for the right moment to get back at his wife. After having their steeds saddled up, they mounted up and rode towards the village. La Muerte was amazed at how different things were in this part of the world, and these humans all going through their afterlives as if they were still in the Living World, even though Xibalba said they were just in one part of the Duat, making her wonder how the other parts looked like, though judging by how he talked about it they didn't seem pleasant.
After a while, they stopped in one of the fields to relax a bit, and allowed their horses to wander nearby. Xibalba watched amusingly as Medianoche tried to flirt with Blanca, only to nearly receive kicks and bites, but the stallion was not giving up. La Muerte, on the other hand, was watching how the people happily cultivated the wheat from the always-fertile fields and led their cattle around to graze in the patches of grass. She noticed a few children playing at the side of the plain, some even skipping stones along the Nile. On the distance, she wasn't certain but she thought she saw Sobek floating face-up on the river with a lazy smile on his scaly lips, flanked by docile crocodiles.
"It's beautiful…" she said after a while.
"I know, it's a pity it doesn't longer look like this in the Land of the Living." Xibalba sighed, shaking his head. "Humans and their love for nature."
La Muerte wasn't amused at his sarcasm, however. "Must you always be looking for defects in humans? Can't you at least try to see them in a positive light for once?"
"That's impossible, my dear, there are little things I find positive in them, other than being so resistant to so many catastrophes, like when Sobek dropped his wine goblet in the Nile and it turned red, that was a good one."
She would have retorted, but a sound behind a nearby palm tree caught her attention. Curious, she approached it and took a peek behind to find a young girl with short dark hair looking up curiously at her with matching dark brown eyes. Naturally, La Muerte's fondness of children overcame her, and she knelt down to meet the girl with a smile. "Hello there. Why are you so lonely?"
The child didn't say anything. Of course, she had forgotten they probably didn't understand a word of what she was saying. However, it seemed the little one took a quick liking to her, she stepped forward and started examining the goddess curiously. La Muerte giggled as the child fidgeted with strands of her hair with wide eyes, probably wondering how anyone could have so much hair.
Xibalba approached his wife, watching fondly as she interacted with the foreign child. While he himself had no love for children, it didn't mean it didn't warm his heart how La Muerte was such a natural with them. At least she was happy, and it made him feel at peace and happy too. Speaking of which he wondered how things were going back home.
Emilio had never been so terrified in his entire life.
He just wanted to have a relaxing day, without Roberto fooling around and Lord Xibalba away with his wife (not that he was happy that they were gone, but sometimes he wanted time for himself), and what did he get? Lady La Muerte's father storming down into the castle, accompanied by Lord Tezcatlipoca, and Aimé by chance; now he found himself under King Sol's threathening gaze.
"I will ask you for a second time." he hissed. "Where is my daughter?"
"I… I…" Emilio was frozen and stuttering.
"She accompanied Lord Xibalba to an errand in Egypt." Regina finally replied, rolling her eyes and pushing Emilio behind her. She was much more macha than him, the others always said.
Sol nearly had a heart attack. "Where?!"
"Calm down, Sol." Tezcatlipoca said calmly. "There's no reason to lose your head."
"No reason?! That bastard has taken my daughter to the Old World! Where all those foreign Gods are!"
"You talk about my Lord as if he were the Devil himself." Regina crossed her arms, frowning at Sol.
"Regina…!" Emilio hissed in dismay.
"Father, what's so wrong with Egypt?" Aimé inquired.
"Those gods are very infamous! They feed human souls to a monster they call Ammut!"
Tezcatlipoca remain indifferent. "You've said so. Humans, not other gods, don't tell me you think Xibalba would allow that his wife is harmed."
Sol couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You seem to forget it's Xibalba we're talking about! The one who tried to take over my kingdom and blackmailed me into handing my beloved daughter to him!"
"Unless my memory fails me, you made a wager with him, and it was won fairly, am I right?"
"Daddy, I think Lord Tezcatlipoca has a good point there…" Aimé finally spoke again. "La Muerte has written in her letters that Lord Xibalba is not that bad…"
"We don't know that! He could have her threathened!"
"You have no proof of that, Sol." Tezcatlipoca said. "Unless La Muerte herself speaks of it, you have no way of proving Xibalba mistreats her, if he does at all."
"My Lord is no brute!" Regina finally snapped. "You may think the worst of him, but Lord Xibalba would never lay a hand on a woman! He is a gentleman!"
Sol glared down at lizard. "I doubt it. You work for him, you could be covering him up."
Tezcatlipoca glanced down at Regina, and saw the lizard was still firm. It could be that she was telling the truth, if she was willing to defend her master. There was only one way to figure it out. "Señorita, I'd like to take a look and see if you speak truthfully."
Regina looked up at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"It's nothing unpleasant, I promise."
Though she was hesitant, Regina nodded. She said nothing as allowed the black jaguar to place a paw-like hand on her head, and her mind went blank as he searched through her memories, looking for any signs that she was lying. After a while, Tezcatlipoca removed his hand from her. "This spirit speaks truthfully, Sol."
Aimé sighed in relief, but Sol was still uncertain. "I still insist that my daughter's marriage should be annulled, she didn't marry him for love! She must be very unhappy here!"
"Sol, if you're so concerned about this, why don't you talk to La Muerte about it?"
"I have talked about it with her, but she won't admit it."
"Daddy, I don't mean to take Xibalba's side, I don't, but maybe you are wrong around him." Aimé shivered when her father gave her a questioning look. "I-I mean, he even taught her how to ride a horse, after all, and he saved her from monsters-"
Sol's eyes snapped open. "WHAT?!"
Aimé gasped in horror. She had slipped her tongue.
Sol took her by the shoulders. "What do you mean by that?! What monsters?!"
"I… Well…" Aimé didn't know what to say, but she guessed that since she had already spilled the beans she had no other choice but to tell him the truth. "A few weeks ago La Muerte was riding through the Land of the Forgotten when she was attacked by the monsters that roam around here. Xibalba saved her, even though he was injured…"
That. Was. It. "That's it! When she comes back I'm taking my daughter home!"
"Sol!" Tezcatlipoca was running out of patience. "Have you not heard Aimé? Xibalba saved La Muerte's life!"
"After endangering it!"
"Your daughter is his wife, she can decide if she wants to be with him or not. We all know she is a strong woman, she wouldn't let any man domineer her."
Emilio sighed and left for the kitchen as the gods started to argue over La Muerte's safety. If they were going to stay for a while, the least he could do was to offer them something to drink.
What a long day.
After spending time on town learning about the Ancient Egyptian culture, interacting with children and the wildlife (even Sobek approached her and Xibalba from the Nile and allowed her to pet some of his pet crocodiles), La Muerte needed some rest. Xibalba decided to take her to the top balcony of the palace to show her the sunset, in his opinion it was the most beautiful in Egypt, watching as the great burning orb disappeared behind the sand dunes of the seemingly endless desert as Ra lowered it. He couldn't help but stare at his wife as she watched the scenery with eyes full of wonder. It had been so long since she had probably seen a sunset, so there was a shine to her gaze that melted his heart away. Xibalba quickly looked away with red cheeks when La Muerte glanced at him.
La Muerte had noticed her companion was looking at her, but he looked away before she could certify it. She couldn't help but giggle a bit. "You're cute when you're nervous."
He would have usually retorted, but the mood was so relaxing that he didn't want to ruin it with bickering. "If you say so, my dear…"
"By the way… I wanted to thank you."
Xibalba glanced at her in surprise. "For what?"
The goddess wasn't certain if it was the right moment, but she instinctively laid her head against her husband's shoulder as she continued to watch the sunset. "For bringing me here. It's beautiful, I never thought I'd meet so many new gods… I love it."
Though tensing up for the first few seconds, Xibalba relaxed afterwards and smiled as he tentatively place a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you like it."
Once more, the two of them remained silent for a while, looking at the setting sun with warm hearts. Soon Xibalba couldn't help but look down at his wife's serene face, she looked beautiful in the sunlight with a warm smile in her face as her bright amber eyes stared at the horizon. He didn't know he had spoken until La Muerte looked up at him. "What is it?"
Xibalba blushed fiercely when he looked now directly into her gaze. "… You have beautiful eyes…"
Now it was La Muerte's turn to blush. "… Gracias… Your eyes are interesting too…" she had always been intrigued by the shape of his red eyes, wondering why they were shaped like that. Maybe it was a genetic thing. Her hand unknowingly found its way to his chest, and his hand was running through her hairs tenderly as the two started to lean their faces closer to each other, dazzled by the relaxing, romantic air around them… Until Xibalba broke out of the blissful trance and pulled back, blushing in embarrassment, soon followed by La Muerte. After a few more minutes of awkward silence, it was La Muerte who spoke next. "Sorry for that, I…"
"No, no, it was mostly my fault…" Xibalba replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Don't worry about it."
A few seconds later, Xibalba stood up from the chair. "I… I have to go and meet with Osiris."
"I understand. Go, I'll be here."
As Xibalba left the room, La Muerte was left alone in the balcony, staring at the starry sky, the last remnants of sunlight were giving the edge of the horizon a reddish hue that would soon be engulfed by the blackness, the air was starting to chill out as a breeze blew against her dark hair. The goddess rubbed her forearms, thinking over what nearly happened. Maybe a few months ago she wouldn't have even thought about kissing Xibalba, but now that she knew him much better, much, much better she guessed she wouldn't really mind-
La Muerte grew alarmed when the idea crossed her head. It couldn't be! She prayed with all her might she wasn't feeling what she thought she was feeling! There was no way she could fall in love with Xibalba! Sure, she liked him as a friend, but she never planned on going beyond that! Still, the more she tried to deny it, the more her heart would counter it and repeat to her that he was the one. La Muerte took her hand to her pendant and sighed sadly, this was one of those moments when she wished her mother was there to guide her and advice her.
As much as she tried to tell herself Xibalba was only a friend, she also looked for excuses of not accepting it; Xibalba probably felt the same and only liked her as a friend, there was no way her father would ever forgive her if she told him she had fallen in love with her husband, and she was afraid of letting the dark god touch her like that. Damn it, there was just so much inside her head…
She needed to talk about this with someone.
