After a long, weary journey back to the New World, La Muerte sighed internally when she caught sight of Xibalba's snake castle. She never thought she'd be happy to return here, with its somber air and dark, intimidating design. Xibalba seemed relieved to be back home as well, at least now he wouldn't have to worry about other gods wanting to kill his wife.

"Well, hogar, dulce hogar." Xibalba sighed, leading his horse across the bridge, followed closely by his wife.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad to be back." La Muerte added.

"I thought you found my castle 'intimidating'."

"Well, I did, but I guess living here made me grow accustomed to it."

"I'm glad you're feel comfortable now."

La Muerte was about to reply, when she took notice of something at the entrance of the castle… a carriage with harnessed horses from the Land of the Remembered. "Is that…?"

"La Muerte?" Xibalba was surprised when La Muerte kicked Blanca into a trot towards the carriage, and followed after her. The coachman was taking a nap, but the sound of hoof beats woke him up, he stirred awake as he watched two figures on horseback approach. He recognized the one on the white horse.

"Princess La Muerte? Is that you?"

Her eyes lit up when she saw the coachman. "Lupe!" she chirped, dismounting from her horse.

"Princesa! It's been a while!" Lupe chuckled. "I'm so glad to see you!" he gulped when he saw the goddess's husband dismounting from his horse and glance at him with a raised eyebrow.

"May I inquire as to why you are here, señor… Lupe?"

"W-Well, My Lord… King S-Sol and Princess Aimé… they asked me to bring them here, and Lord Tezcatlipoca…"

"Oh, great."

"My father and my sister are here?" La Muerte asked, her eyes lit up with hope.

"Yeah, well…"

As if on cue, suddenly the doors opened and Luis and Emilio rushed out, looking scared beyond their wits, and there was a glimpse of relief when they saw their master. "Lord Xibalba!" Emilio cried out, panting.

"What the heck happened to you two?" Xibalba inquired, leaning on his staff. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"My Lord, King Sol is on a rampage inside! It's a complete disaster!"

"A rampage, you say?"

"He is accusing you of…" Luis gulped. "Well… Abusing your wife."

"He what?!" La Muerte groaned and smacked her forehead. "I can't believe it!"

Before Xibalba had time to react, La Muerte was dragging him by the hand inside his castle. They were heading towards the main hall, where they could hear voices aruing loudly.

"You may think as you want, but My Lord is no brute!"

"I don't have to listen to his dogs!"

"Say that again! I dare you!"

"Enough! This will get us nowhere! The best thing to do is to wait until La Muerte an Xibalba return from their trip and she will tell us herself!"

The argue was interrupted when La Muerte pushed the doors open, making everyone inside the main hall go silent. Apparently Regina and Roberto were in a yelling with Sol, while Tezcatlipoca tried to calm the storm with words and Aimé just watched, afraid to go against her father. As soon as the two of them had come into the room, Sol's eyes left the lizards and a wave of relief washed over him when he saw his eldest daughter safe and sound.

"La Muerte!" he rushed forward and embraced his child, before proceeding to check on her. "Are you okay?!"

"Father, I am fine!" La Muerte retorted with a hint of annoyance as she stepped back. "Why must you insist?!"

"I'm sorry, big sis, I messed up… It slipped my tongue…" Aimé sobbed, looking down, in shame.

Sol's gaze hardened when he turned to Xibalba and stomped towards him. "You brute! I know what you did to my daughter!"

Xibalba narrowed his eyes, resting his hands on the head of his staff "And what did I do to your daughter, according to you?"

"Lord Xibalba, is it true that a few months ago your wife had… an incident in which she was attacked by the monsters of your realm?" Tezcatlipoca inquired, binging his hands behind his back while string at the dark god coldly.

"It is, My Lord."

"Oh, and he admits it like it's nothing wrong!" Sol growled.

"Silence. I will be the only one to speak." The jaguar snapped his fangs at Sol, before continuing with his questioning. "And was she injured?"

"She received scratches on her cheek, but other than I was able to rescue her before any further harm was done to her."

Regina had the feeling the next conversation did not concern her nor Roberto, so she excused them. "Well, My Lords, if you won't be needing us, we shall take our leave."

Roberto glanced at her incredulously. "But it's getting interesting." Soon he was yelping in pain when Regina dragged him out buy the fin and closed the doors shut behind them. La Muerte would have giggled if the circumstances were different.

"Father, how many times must I tell you that Xibalba has not laid any finger on me!" La Muerte snapped, glaring at her father.

"La Muerte, why do you insist on covering him up?!" Sol snapped back.

Xibalba shook his head while rolling his eyes. "And they say I'm the one with anger management problems."

Tezcatlipoca realized that if they all stayed in the same room they wouldn't get anywhere, it would be best that he spoke with the couple one by one. By themselves. "In light of this situation, I believe it will be best that I talk with Lord Xibalba and Lady La Muerte separately, alone."

"You can't be serious!"

"Everyone except La Muerte, out."

Sol was hesitant, but once one of the kings spoke it was the last word. He quietly walked out of the main hall, followed by the trembling Aimé, and soon were joined by Xibalba, who grumbled something about being 'ordered around in his own castle' as he closed the doors shut behind him. La Muerte grew nervous when she was left alone with Tezcatlipoca, she had never liked to talk about personal matters with anyone that wasn't her little sister. Still, her words may condemn her husband or save his reputation, so she had to be careful with what she said.

"Lady La Muerte, I understand you've been living with your husband the last months, your father is convinced that Xibalba harms you physically and emotionally. And it's not that hard to believe, considering Lord Xibalba's reputation. However, I want to hear it from your own lips, if it has ever happened at all."

La Muerte took a deep breath before replying. "No, My Lord. Xibalba has never raised his hand against me."

"But has he hurt you indirectly, even if it wasn't his intention?"

"When I had been living down here for a few days, he challenged me to a bet on a horserace. I had no experience in horseback, and so I fell off my horse and knocked on my head. But he came back for me and-!"

"That's all I need to know. But I do understand you've been telling your father you've seen a side of your husband that no one ever has."

"That's right, My Lord." La Muerte embraced herself, thinking carefully on her words. "Xibalba is not a monster. I won't deny it, I didn't like him at first, but these months that I've gotten to know him I've come to realize he is not what everyone thinks he is. He is distant, cold and cruel, that's right, but he's also strong, a stern but just leader, in my time here I've seen he treats his servants fairly, and they respect him."

Tezcatlipoca listened to her every word. When she was done talking, he nodded his head. "Very well, then, but I need to be certain what you say is true. I hope you won't mind if I take a look."

"You may search through my memories if you'd like, My Lord. I have nothing to hide."

Tezcatlipoca placed his claw on La Muerte's forehead, and searched through her memories; he saw her racing with Xibalba, him taking care of her after her fall, their chats, their interactions, how he saved her from the Forgotten beasts, her meeting with Epona and the Egyptian Gods, and many other moments she and Xibalba did together. Overall, Tezcatlipoca could see she was not lying at all, but he swore he felt something else within her…

Meanwhile, Xibalba was doing a glaring contest with Sol, while Aimé just stood aside, not knowing what to say. Xibalba's pack of hounds lay resting at his feet, waiting for an order from their master if her father were to provoke him in any way. Luckily, it seemed the dark god was not in the mood to get into fights with his father-in-law. Unfortunately, she couldn't say the same for her father.

"When my daughter leaves that room we're leaving this place forever." Sol hissed.

"La Muerte is big enough to take her own decisions, don't you think?" Xibalba raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "And you can't simply take her away, she is my wife."

"I won't allow you to hurt her any further!"

"Please. You have no proof that I ever hurt her, if I ever did at all!"

"I can expect anything from a monster like you, I wouldn't be surprised if you hurt women-!"

Xibalba had enough of insulting; flaring out his wings, his hounds woke up and growled at Sol, bristling their fur and licking their chops. Xibalba only had to snap his fingers to make them attack Sol.

"You better watch your tongue, you miserable worm." Xibalba hissed, his teeth becoming sharp. "I may be cruel, I may kill in cold blood, but I am no brute. Laying a hand on a woman is a thing of cowards. The only reason I don't finish you off with my hounds it's because you're La Muerte's father."

Aimé finally reacted and stood between her father and the dark god. "My Lord, please don't be mad! Father didn't mean to offend you!"

"Stay out of this, Aimé." Sol growled at his younger daughter.

"I'm trying to stop you from getting hurt!"

"This does not concern you!"

"It does concern me, father! La Muerte is my sister! I care for her wellbeing as much as you! But have you stopped to think on what she wants?!"

"She won't be happy as long as she is bound to this-!"

Xibalba lifted his fingers as if he were about to snap them. "One more word and I will unleash my hounds on you."

Before they could argue any further, the doors opened and La Muerte stepped out, a little bit exhausted from Tezcatlipoca looking through her memories. She glanced at Xibalba tiredly. "Lord Tezcatlipoca is waiting for you."

Nodding, Xibalba glanced down at his hounds-they knew what he wanted them to do- before slithering inside, closing the doors shut behind him. As soon as they were alone, Aimé rushed into her older sister's embrace, sobbing. "Hermanita…"

"Shh, it's okay Amy…" La Muerte returned the embrace.

"La Muerte, what happened in there?" Sol asked.

"I told Tezcatlipoca the truth." She caught the sight of relief on her father's face.

"You've told him of whatever Xibalba did to you?"

She frowned. "I told him the truth. That he has never hurt me."

"Mija, why do you insist on covering him up?!"

"Why do you insist on accusing him of something he never did?!"

"I just want to protect you from that monster!"

La Muerte had enough, releasing her sister she stood up to her father. "Xibalba is not a monster!"

"How can you defend him?!"

"I've told you many times that he is not like you think he is!"

"Be reasonable, La Muerte! Now's a good chance for you to come back home!"

"Through lies?! You taught me to always be honest!"

"You're saying you'd rather stay here with him?"

Before she could retort, the doors opened and Xibalba walked out rubbing his temples, followed by Tezcatlipoca. The jaguar-headed god glanced at Sol, before speaking. "I've spoken to Lord Xibalba and Lady La Muerte, and I've taken a look into their memories." He paused for a minute to glance at Sol's expectant expression, before continuing. "There is no sign nor proof that Lord Xibalba has ever hurt his wife. In fact, these past months they have been getting along quite well, so you have nothing to be afraid of, Sol. Xibalba has saved your daughter in various occasions, most recently in their trip to Egypt."

Sol was about to protest, before Tezcatlipoca lifted his hand once more.

"Not another word on this matter, Sol. What your daughter said is true."

Xibalba so wanted to give his father-in-law a triumphant grin, but felt it would make La Muerte feel upset, and so chose not to say anything. Aimé didn't look surprised that Tezcatlipoca had given the reason to her sister, she herself believed her when she said she was fine. Unfortunately, it seemed her father was having none of it.

"Well, thank you for your… visit." Xibalba said, shifting uncomfortably. "Now, if you'll excuse us, my wife and I are exhausted from our journey."

Tezcatlipoca nodded. "I understand. We shall take our leave now."

Aimé embraced her sister one more time before going after him, but Sol just gave his eldest daughter a hurt, disappointed look before taking his leave.


"Are you sure you are okay?"

La Muerte sighed, rubbing her forearms to warm herself up a bit. "I'm fine, really…"

Xibalba didn't buy it, however. "I know you don't like to fight with your family." He said, sitting down next to her. "Sorry if I nearly unleashed my dogs on your father."

"I can't really blame you if daddy provoked you. He usually refrains form fighting, but he has never liked any men near me and Aimé." La Muerte lifted her fingers to touch her mother's pendant. "He says it's because he promised mamá he'd take good care of us, but… Sometimes I feel like he is drowning me with his overprotectiveness."

"At least you have someone who cares about you…" Xibalba muttered, sighing sadly and looking down at the floor.

"You have Regina, and Emilio, and your pets."

"And my mother for a while…" he stopped himself from speaking about her any further.

"Xibalba, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"What is it?"

La Muerte hesitated, she didn't want to get on his bad mood so soon, but it had been pecking at the back of her brain. "… What happened to your father? You have never talked about him."

At the mention of his father Xibalba stiffened and his feathers bristled. "I don't want to talk about him."

"Did he hurt you in some way-?"

"I said I do not want to talk about him."

"But-"

"Please…" Xibalba growled through grit teeth, doing his best to keep himself form snapping at his wife, and his eyes dry. "Do not make me do something I can regret later."

La Muerte could tell it was a very touchy subject to him, but judging by his reaction she could deduce that his father either left him, or hurt him in some way he didn't want to talk about… Did the scars in his back have something to do with him? She guessed she couldn't ask Xibalba about them either, he'd probably lie to her and say he got them during his time in the wars. There was a knock in the door that brought her out of her thoughts.

"My Lord and Lady, dinner's ready."

Xibalba spoke before La Muerte could. "Come in."

La Muerte was surprised when Emilio, Roberto and Lorenzo walked into the room with a trolley, with two covered plates on top of it, a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

"For tonight's main course, we have a tasty three cheese pasta accompanied with red wine from the 1284 harvest!" Roberto announced cheerfully.

"We figured you'd like something tasty to cheer up your mood." Emilio smiled at the couple.

"Eyup." Lorenzo nodded.

La Muerte took a hand to her chest in delighted surprise, while Xibalba shook his head with a grin. "You three really are something."

"Oh, guys. You didn't have to…"

"It was out pleasure, Milady. That coachman who came here told us it was your favorite dish."

La Muerte giggled, and decided to enjoy herself with dinner. Though her doubts were still present. She'd have to do some investigating of her own. And she knew just the place…