After returning from the Land of the Remembered, La Muerte locked herself in her room and cried. Xibalba felt terrible, he hated when she was sad, contrasting her joyful and happy self. Sometimes he'd even hear her sobs all the way from her room to his, and it killed him. Not only that, but she was silent during meals, and at times he could even see a few tears trickle down her face from underneath that giant hat of hers. Though he was relieved that he wasn't the cause of those tears, he still felt terrible that she cried. And unfortunately, he was not good at comforting people.

Now letters from the Land of the Remembered would arrive on a daily basis, in aqua green and dark blue envelopes respectively, but La Muerte would only read the ones in the dark blue envelopes, probably coming from her sister, discarding the ones in the aqua green ones, undoubtedly from Sol. Finally came the day he could not bear to see his wife so miserable anymore, and knocked the door to her room.

"La Muerte?"

When there was no reply, turned the knob and he pushed the door open to find his wife on bed, her back turned towards the door. He heard sobs coming from her, and it made him feel even worse than before. Silently, Xibalba walked over to La Muerte's bed and sat down, still trying to think on what to say to her. "Are you okay?"

Another sob, and La Muerte managed to speak. "He… He had n-never…" She wasn't even able to finish the sentence.

"I don't know what to say… I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now…"

"I never thought he'd be capable of doing it…"

"I don't mean to criticize your father, but what he did has no justification."

"I can't say I'm completely blameless either…"

"You just stood your ground, that's nothing to be ashamed of."

La Muerte sat up cross-legged on bed, hugging herself. "He was stern, sometimes he yelled, but he had never laid a finger on me or Aimé…" She grabbed her pendant gingerly. "For the first time I'm glad mamá wasn't here to see it… It would have broken her heart…" her eyes swelled up with tears yet again, but she bit her lips and tried her best to repress them. Xibalba noticed, and gently took his fingers to her chin to turn her head towards him and lift her gaze to meet his, wiping her tears with his thumb gently. La Muerte couldn't take it anymore, and she allowed herself to fall into his embrace, weeping openly and burying her face into his neck. Xibalba wrapped his arms around her, even going as far as to wrap his wings around her to make her feel warm and safe, running his hands through her beautiful hair.

"Shh, it's okay." He cooed, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"I just…" she couldn't speak, she was drowning in her own pain. Out of all people who could have smacked her, it had to be her own father. She cried for what seemed like hours, before her eyes were bloodshot and dry, unable to shed anymore, relaxing in Xibalba's embrace, though this time her heart wasn't drumming inside her chest; instead, she was soothed down by the beating of his. She felt it, palpitating beneath his armor, and it calmed her, eventually lulling her into a wonderful slumber.

Xibalba accommodated La Muerte in bed when he realized she had fallen asleep, and pulled her duvet over her to keep her warm. He smiled a bit when La Muerte smiled in her sleep, but he knew she wouldn't heal from this experience, he had to help her a little bit. For the moment, however, he just left his wife to rest. Meanwhile, he'd have to think on what to do with her.

Lately, Xibalba had been thinking… he never really got to know La Muerte before their… marriage. She was the romantic type; he could see her reading romantic novels in her free time with a smile on her face, she loved the tales of princesses being rescued by handsome princes, but most of all of forbidden love affairs, in which the couple was willing to go against everything, be it social or economical pressure, or opposition from their families, they always stuck to their love together, no matter the obstacles.

He had been thinking, perhaps it wouldn't do bad to ask her out. It sounded silly, being already married and all that, but maybe it would cheer her up, not to mention he could think of no better way to thank her for everything. But he wanted to ask her in a special way, not just simply go and ask her 'Hey, would you like to go out on a date?'. He had considered various ideas, but deemed them too plain or simple. He needed advice, as much as he disliked the idea. Walking into his study, Xibalba sat down into his desk and took out a paper. He picked up the quill and dabbed the fine point in the black inkbottle, before starting to write to the one person he trusted on this matter.

My dearest Epona.

You're going to think I'm crazy for asking you this, but I'd like to ask you for some… Romantic advice. Don't take me wrong, I don't have those kind of feelings for my wife, but I'd like to cheer her up after what happened in Aimé's birthday party, as well as to let her know of my gratefulness for her support. I'm writing to you of all people because of our… past experiences together.

I don't want something grand, but not too simple either, I just want to make her feel happy. I've been thinking on asking her out, but I can't find a proper way to do it, I know La Muerte is very romantic and she likes details, as small as they cab be. She is not superficial, though, but I still would like to know your opinion on this matter, my dear old friend.

PD: Destroy this letter after reading it.

Xibalba.

After finishing the letter with his signature, Xibalba placed the quill back on the inker, carefully folding the paper and slipping it into a black envelope. With his green wax holding it shut, he stamped it with an X before heading towards a birdcage on one side of his window, where a raven was perched, resting. While not as much attached to this bird as he was to his snake, hounds and horse, Xibalba still treated it with respect and appreciation. After all, it went far and wide delivering his mail.

Opening the raven's cage, he allowed it to walk unto his arm, its claws digging into his glove. Xibalba opened the window of his study, and held up the envelope to the raven's beak, which the bird took without hesitation.

"Go." The dark god gently motioned his messenger bird out unto the air outside, and watched it fly away swiftly. Humans used pigeons for similar purposes, but gods used different types of birds; he preferred ravens, they were much smarter, elegant and could travel between realms, as a few other species of birds like owls or even hawks. Now he had to wait for a reply.

A few hours later, he finished with just another pile of paperwork when the raven returned, landing just in front of his master, carrying a white envelope with a horse head-shaped seal in gold wax. Xibalba took the envelope from his raven and gave the loyal bird a small biscuit as a reward, before it flew back to its cage. Xibalba gently opened the envelope and slid out the paper, unfolding it and reading the reply.

Dear Xibalba

You don't have to be embarrasses for it! It's okay if you're starting to like a Muerte more than you think, she is a wonderful woman, after all. As for your request, the first thing you should know about women is that they're emotional, they like gifts, but they don't care how expensive or cheap it is, all they care is that you be honest and understanding.

You're a smart man, I'm sure you can think of something. You're known for your wit and cleverness, as well as your intellect, I'm sure you won't have any trouble on finding a way to do it. Just try not to abuse it, it can annoy the heck out of her if you overdo it. But the most important thing of all, be yourself. Don't go around trying to impress her, it'll make her think you're superficial.

But don't worry about it, dear friend. I'm sure you will be able to handle it.

And darling, don't worry! It's not like I'd give your letter to a local newspaper, would I?

Epona.

Darn, even in her writings she always had to find a way to annoy him! Still, he reread her words carefully. Gifts, she said, not matter if it was expensive or cheap, rare or common, be it an exquisite jewel or a simple rose and chocolates, all that mattered was the intention. But that was too cliché, and he didn't want La Muerte to think he was courting her! He just wanted to show her gratitude, not ask her to be his girlfriend! Still, one of Epona's words had a sort of an impact on him. To be himself…

Now that he thought of it, she had a bit of reason in there. He had noticed it, too. When he brought her to his castle for the first time all his attempts to seduce her failed miserably, because he was imposing and tried to act all tough and dominating; it wasn't until he softened up and showed his true self that she started to warm and open up to him.

Xibalba sighed and stroked his beard-an habit he had when he was thinking something thoroughly-, trying to think of a way to ask her. Chocolates? Flowers? No, too cliché. Jewelry? As if, he was not that rich; he had enough to live comfortably, but the Land of the Forgotten was practically a wasteland, the only thing he had to trade was obsidian, and all he traded it for was for food, vegetables and meats not found here. A song or a ballad…?

It wasn't such a bad idea. He could always compose a song for her: not to brag, but he was an exceptional composer, renown through the thirteen realms for his music, heck, not even the Phantom of the Opera himself could be compared to Lord Xibalba. But all the music he composed was dark, melancholic and heart-wrenching; for the first time ever, he would have to compose something light, not necessarily cheerful, but something beautiful, maybe a bit passionate, warm… Xibalba stood up from his desk, grabbed his staff and headed out of his study, towards the organ room. He had started hundreds of musical pieces from scratch before; it couldn't be that hard.


"Maldita sea!"

With another blow form his tightened fist to the obsidian keys of his organ, making the serpent pipes let out a high-pitched sound similar to a screech, Xibalba wrinkled another sheet of yet another failed attempt of creating a musical piece for La Muerte into a paper ball and threw it aside with the other failed attempts, there was already a pile of wrinkled up papers next to him. Xibalba let out another sigh, rubbing his temples while muttering curses under his breath. Damn it, why was it so hard?!

"My Lord?"

"Not now, Emilio…" Xibalba sighed, trying to calm down.

Emilio and Roberto walked into the organ room after hearing the instrument releasing cries of 'protest' from its owner's frustration, and found their master inside, with a pile of wrinkled papers at his side. Emilio knew that when Xibalba was composing, he hated to be interrupted, but before he could drag his companion away Roberto had already made his way inside. "You seem to have some trouble in your composing, My Lord."

"Roberto…!" Emilio whined in panic, going after Roberto.

"I can't get it right… I don't know why…" Xibalba sighed, allowing his wings to relax and touch the ground, his feathers bristling. "I just… It's never been so hard."

Roberto grinned. "It's for Lady La Muerte, isn't it?"

"W-What?! How did y-you…?" Xibalba stuttered, his face all red and his grip on the keys tightening. "I d-don't..!"

"Roberto!" Emilio growled once more.

"Let me guess, you want to compose a song for her but you can't think of something suitable for her."

Sometimes he wondered if Roberto had keen senses, mind-reading abilities or simply tried his luck at guessing, but he seemed to know what he was thinking (at times). "Sort of." Xibalba said.

"Try not to stress yourself too much, My Lord, don't forget you had an epileptic attack a week ago."

"Don't remind me… I was lucky not to break a wing this time."

"My Lord, if you want to make something for a lady, don't hold yourself back. Express your feelings in that piece!" Roberto laughed, ignoring Emilio's faces to motion him to stop. "Let her know you appreciate her!"

"And since when do you know so much about women? The only single woman down here is Regina, and I've never seen you serenade her with something." Emilio stated matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.

"I'd never steal her from a certain someone that is head over heels over her…" Roberto retorted cleverly, giving his fellow lizard a sly look. Emilio immediately blushed and grew nervous.

"What the-?! How dare you-?! I'm not-!"

Xibalba chuckled as he watched Emilio drag Roberto out by the tail, though Roberto didn't stop teasing him about his crush on Regina. The lizard's words gave him a bit of an idea, though. Taking another blank music sheet out of a nearby trunk with a wave of his fingers, telepathically placing it on the rack, he started with another composition.


La Muerte woke up when she heard scratching at her door. She instantly knew it was not the lizards, nor Xibalba, not even Ponzoña, that only left one option. Shifting awake in bed, she gently removed the covers off her, and removed the wrinkles in her dress with her hand and put on her hat back on. She walked towards the door and opened, her suspicions confirmed when she saw one of Xibalba's hounds, Colmillo (or Garra, she still had some difficulty telling them apart) in front of the doorway, ears high, tail wagging and with a rose on his mouth. As soon as she stepped outside, Colmillo stood back up and held out the rose.

"Gracias." La Muerte smiled as she accepted the flower, though she new who had sent it to her.

Colmillo spontaneously started trotting away, before stopping a few steps away and looking back at the Goddess with expectant eyes. La Muerte instantly knew the hound wanted her to follow him, so she went after him as he led her through the corridors of the castle, upstairs, and stopped just in front of the organ chamber. She thought she heard music coming from the inside. She knew Xibalba hated to be interrupted when composing, but when Colmillo silently scratched at the door and looked back at her, she took it as a gesture to go inside. Though hesitant, La Muerte grabbed the knob of the door and turned it as silently as she could, pushing it open to take a look inside.

She gasped in surprise with what she found.

There was a small pathway of candles and rose petals that adorned their way to the organ, towards the bench. Xibalba was on the bench, it seemed like he had not yet noticed her presence, he was playing a musical piece on his rack. However, unlike most of his previous works this one was… gentle, almost like a breeze, beautiful, and it expressed affection and tenderness, not anger, hate or sorrow like the times before. La Muerte was drawn by the music, her feet carried her closer to the organ, tentatively approaching the dark god as his fingers flew over and pressed the keys of his organ, tenderly and softly this time. La Muerte froze in place when Xibalba turned to look at her, but became surprised when she found no irritation or annoyance in his face, but a smile.

"Good timing, my dear. I was just thinking about you."

La Muerte wasn't certain on what to do now, but she took the hint when her husband made some space on the bench and invited her to sit next to him. La Muerte sat down next to him, and took a better look at the beautiful organ. From this close, it wasn't as intimidating as the other times she had seen it, maybe because of the warmth the candles offered. Even the candles in the organ were glowing a warm orange yellow instead of the usual green, she wondered if it had something to do with Xibalba's mood.

"Is it a new one?" La Muerte inquired, noticing the music sheet on the rack.

Xibalba nodded. "Indeed it is. I finished it just last night, and I wanted you to hear it out."

"It would be my pleasure."

Shifting on his seat, Xibalba took one single read on the music sheet, before he started to play. La Muerte was impressed at how quick, graceful and gentle his fingers were when pressing on the keys, but what was moving her most was the music. This was not like the other songs he had heard from him, this had no negative emotions expressed on it. It was the contrary, it expressed hope, affection and… was it gratefulness? She couldn't really tell, but she could hear throughout the song light, gentle tones and tunes, almost like a requiem or a sonata.

La Muerte shivered lightly when she felt something cover her, but relaxed upon recognizing the touch of Xibalba's wing. Curiously, although they looked all ragged and burnt, the dark god's wings were actually very soft at touch, almost like a blanket made of swan feathers. And they were very warm too, would be perfect for a cold winter night. The atmosphere was so… romantic… she was so content she didn't mind using that word for now. She leaned against Xibalba's shoulder with closed eyes, listening to his beautiful music intently. Soon she realized the song was meant for her, it was a sort of gift. She could tell Xibalba had poured his heart and soul into this piece, and she loved that thing about him.

Unfortunately, the song had to come to an end, an just like it had a hopeful beginning, it had a hopeful end, like the wings of love finally taking flight. When he was done with the piece, Xibalba glanced at his wife with a small smile. "Did you like it?"

"It's the most beautiful piece you've written so far." La Muerte said, smiling up at him, tentatively reaching out to take his hand. "You truly have a gift."

"T-Thanks…" Xibalba blushed, his heart skipping a beat upon feeling her gentle hand touching his, he felt her warmth even with his glove on.

"When did you start playing?"

"After I inherited the throne. I needed a stimulating hobby to let out my emotions, and Epona recommended me to try with an instrument. I first tried with string instruments, but my fingers would tangle with the strings, then the wind-instruments, but I did not feel comfortable with flutes or harmonicas, until one day I was wandering through Paris and heard a different instrument playing. It came from Notre Dame. When I went to take a look, I saw a friar playing the organ during a mass, I immediately fell in love with the pipe organ."

"Did you learn to play by yourself?"

"Mostly, yes."

"Must be hard."

"Not really. Once you get used to it, it's like a piece of cake." Xibalba gulped. Now was the time. It was now or never. "Say, La Muerte…"

La Muerte looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"Well, I've been thinking…"

"Yes…?"

Damn it! A knot was forming in his tongue when he tried to say the words! He had rehearsed thousands of times and now he couldn't express those simple words! He felt a nudge at his foot, and subtly glanced down at the ground, where Ponzoña's two heads were encouraging him to go on.

"Wouldyouliketogooutonadatewithme?" Xibalba smacked his forehead in frustration.

La Muerte blinked in confusion. "What?"

"I…. That's not… I-B…"

She giggled. "You're cute when you're nervous."

Xibalba took a deep breath, and exhaled, calming his nerves and managing to speak, softly this time as he looked into his wife's eyes. "I'd like to ask you to go out on a date with me." His stomach dropped when she gave him a curious but questioning look. "I mean… We never got to… Perhaps we should get to know each other a bit more, don't you think?"

He was certain she was going to rebuff him. La Muerte remained silent for a few minutes, processing his words. Was he asking her out? She couldn't believe it, and yet she was the happiest woman when she heard those words, though she wasn't certain of why. Still, she thought it wouldn't do bad to give it a try.

"I'd like to."

Xibalba was about to sigh in disappointment when he heard a positive reply, instead of the negative answer he had been expecting (and was prepared for). She said yes… Dijo que si! Yes! Yesyesyesyes! He was not the type to jump around in joy when happy, but it didn't mean he didn't grin sheepishly. La Muerte noticed he looked embarrassed, so she decided to try and change the subject, glancing back at the keys of the organ. She was tempted to press one, but she thought she should ask for permission first. "Xibalba, may I…?"

"Of course."

Though hesitating at first, La Muerte tentatively reached out her hand for one of the key and pressed it, but quickly retreated when the pipe let out the screeching tune. Xibalba chuckled and took her hands tenderly. "Allow me…"

"W-Wait…"

La Muerte blushed deeply when Xibalba gently took her hands in his larger ones and took them to the keys of the organ. Gently he pressed her fingers against some keys, and the pipes released soft but still slightly-screeching notes. La Muerte relaxed as she allowed the dark god to guide her hands and fingers, playing a small melody. The both of them were blushing deeply, and the closeness was making them shiver internally, but overall were enjoying each other's company. Heck, they could even say they liked to be this close, though they wouldn't admit it outloud.

"You're a great teacher, Xibalba…" La Muerte whispered, leaning against his shoulder once again.

Xibalba returned the smile, wrapping his wing around her. "I have an excellent student…"


Okay, everyone! The next chap will be what you've been waiting for! (Sort of). I'm accepting suggestions for a romantic date (and the first) between these two. I already have that it'll take place in three places: Paris, Venice and Barcelona. I'd appreciate some help!

Well, see you on the next chap!