Okay, guys! I've decided that since this chapter is going to be very long I'll divide it into two parts, this is the first one. The second will leave you in the edge of your seats, I promise!
Enjoy!
Her first date ever.
Due to her father's overprotectiveness and old traditions, La Muerte had never had a date before, and so naturally she was very nervous. She spent all morning trying to figure out what to wear, but when she picked something a few minutes later she'd find a defect in the dress and start all over again, and she was wasting precious time on it. She had already chosen and discarded over ten of her favorite dresses, she just couldn't make up her mind! It was her first day ever and she wanted to look at her very best. She envied Xibalba, he surely didn't have as much trouble in choosing what to wear, men were not as picky with those things.
Finally deciding to rest a bit from taking dresses in and out of the wardrobe for the moment, La Muerte went to her boudoir and sat down to admire her reflection at the mirror. She had no idea of why she was so obsessed with her outfit if she had always thought that what mattered was not one's appearance, but what's inside one's heart. Maybe she wanted Xibalba to think she was pretty… Heck, she couldn't even get the thought out of her head! The goddess unconsciously took her hand to her mother's pendant, as if asking for advice. She wondered how her first date with her father had been like.
"Milady?"
La Muerte sighed. "Come in, Regina."
The female lizard silently walked inside and saw the collection of dresses on top of the bed, immediately assuming what was wrong. "Having difficulty in finding something appropriate to wear, right?"
"I don't know why it's so difficult! All I want is a decent dress, but I just can't find the right one…" La Muerte was close to ripping them to pieces in frustration. "It's the first date I've ever had…"
"What matters is not only how pretty a dress is, what matters is the significance it has to oneself."
"I guess you're right in that one… Xibalba is so lucky…"
Regina chuckled in amusement. "You have not seen him yet. He's freaking out."
"He is?" La Muerte nearly giggled at the comment. "He can't decide on what to wear either?"
"Not exactly about the outfit, it just he has never gone out on a date either." Regina sighed with a grin. "He has hung around ladies before, but not like this. Naturally he's very nervous that he'll mess up."
"I can guess…" La Muerte thought for a moment, before looking back at her wardrobe. Maybe… "Well, there is a dress I have always been saving for a special occasion." The goddess whispered, heading towards her wardrobe and taking out a beautiful dress from within.
Regina stared at it with wide eyes of wonder. "It's beautiful, milady. The most beautiful dress I've ever seen."
"My mother once said she wore it during one of her first dates with Father. She said she'd save it for me when I went on my first date…" her eyes were swelling up with tears. "And she did…"
"It will look beautiful on you, milady. It needs a few retouches, but I can bet Lord Xibalba will be agape when he sees you."
"Could you lend me a hand? It's been so long since I've sewn something that I'm out of practice." La Muerte blushed.
Regina smiled. "Don't worry, milady. Years of sewing Lord Xibalba's cloaks have given me quite the experience."
5 hours later, 6:00 P.M.
"Do I look good?"
Ponzoña rolled his eyes-the two pairs- in annoyance, and hissed in approval for the fifth time. For the first time ever, Xibalba would be wearing a suit. Only the jacket, but a suit nonetheless. It consisted of a jet black silk jacket over a purple waistcoat, with single-breasted buttons, dark gray notched lapel and trimmed aqua green bones at the sides. There were matching shoulder boards at his sides, with short, adorning purple epaulettes. Instead of his normal leather gloves, he wore aqua green formal gloves that matched his suit. For once, his crown wouldn't accompany him, instead he left it resting in its showcase on his chambers. It was his formal suit, which he barely used except when it was strictly necessary.
"Sorry, it's just…" Xibalba sighed, shifting his wings. "I've never used this thing before, what if she thinks it's ridiculous?"
Ponzoña shook both heads.
"I know, old friend. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I've never been on a date before!" he blushed sheepishly when Ponzoña glanced at him with a 'is that so?' look. "Hey, those other times didn't count! They weren't even formal dates, just…"
"Um, My Lord…"
"What?!" Xibalba yelled unintentionally, before realizing what he just did. The dark god sighed. "Sorry, Luis."
The lizard relaxed, and spoke once again. "Sorry for interrupting, My Lord, but Lady La Muerte is ready for you."
Finally. "Okay, old friend, wish me luck." Xibalba sighed, glancing at Ponzoña and accommodating his suit once more time before heading out of his study, and towards the grand hall. He was just making his way towards the doors when he saw her.
Tonight she looked beautiful, almost like an angel coming down from heaven into his cold, dark hell. La Muerte wore a beautiful red dress with a velvety look to it, he had never seen her wear it before. It had off-shoulder long sleeves that reached up to her wrists, and it had a mermaid silhouette with a bit of trumped at the edges of the skirt. Her trademark marigold flowers adorned her sleeves, the edge of her bodice and it ran down the front of the dress and unto the edge of the long skirt. The skirt was parted in the middle, exposing a bit of her legs, also adorned with lots of marigolds.
Her long dark hair combed more than usual, and it had beautiful curls in perfect harmony, as well as two loose curls of hair on her face, and one of her yellow flowers resting on it. For her footwear, she wore red leather shoes with middle-heels. Though she never used make up, her face markings and her cherry red lips made her look like she had spent hours on it, but it didn't make her look less beautiful.
La Muerte walked down the stairs towards her husband, and noticed how he was looking at her. Xibalba was speechless, amazed by the striking beauty in front of him, he swore his heart would burst out of his chest at any moment. La Muerte giggled when she saw his bewildered expression.
"What? Say something."
"I… I-B…." Xibalba managed to regain his composure. "My apologies, but you look radiant tonight, my dear."
It was La Muerte's turn to blush now. "Gracias…"
"All ready to go?"
"Whenever you say, Im ready."
Xibalba smiled and held out a hand for her to take, back to his smooth, charismatic self. "Shall we?"
She took his hand gently, shivering when she noticing once again how they were much larger than hers. "Let's go."
"Just hang on tie."
Before La Muerte could react, she was pulled gently into Xibalba's embrace as he wrapped his wings around her, and then there was an abrupt flash of light that made her bury her face into his neck to shield her eyesight form harm. A few seconds later, she felt Xibalba's hold on her soften. "You can open your eyes now, my dear."
La Muerte was about to lash out gently at him for teleporting her like that without even telling her, but she found herself admiring the sight. She could tell they were in the Land of the Living, but not in Mexico, not even in America! The people in the carriages, the French calligraphy announcing stores, restaurants and other places of interest, and the Eiffel tower in the distance…
"Is this Paris?"
"I guessed it would be interesting to show you around Europe's most popular places, Paris being the first one." Xibalba chuckled, looking around at the scenery. "Guess where we are."
La Muerte looked down and gasped in fright when she realized they were in a very high roof, much taller than most of the houses around, but not enough to surpass the Eiffel towel. She noticed there was a twin structure next to this balcony to the right, and there was a small plaza down there… "Notre Dame?"
"And we have a winner!"
"Couldn't you have transported us to the ground level?"
"Where's the fun in that? Besides, I wanted you to enjoy the view." Xibalba chuckled, half-prepared to receive small smack, but La Muerte only rolled her eyes amusingly. "By the way, we should be going or we'll lose the reservation."
She blinked. "Reservation?"
"I didn't bring you only to sightsee, my dear, you must be hungry, am I right?"
"Now that you mention, I was so busy in getting ready I didn't get to eat anything."
"Good. Hang on tight."
La Muerte grabbed unto her husband's arm as he snapped his fingers, and they teleported once again, this time to Champs le Mars, where the Eiffel tower was located. She looked upwards in amazement, it was so much larger this close, the thought not even the highest Aztec pyramid could ever be compared to this structure.
"Why did we come to the Eiffel tower? I thought you'd said we would eat."
"We will, my dear."
Both gods took human form-they still wore the same clothing-, which wasn't much different from their godly forms. La Muerte had the appearance of a young woman with long dark hair and fair skin, while Xibalba looked like a dignified young man despite his white moustache, beard and hair, with light brown skin. However, the both of them were attractive in human standards. Xibalba led his wife towards one of the feet of the towers, were a private lift took people up to a certain level of the Eiffel tower. Humans were walking around the park either strolling or going for the restaurants of the Eiffel tower.
But La Muerte grew confused when they walked past the lift that would take them upwards. "Xibalba, the lift is over there."
"The human lift is over there. I'm taking you to a much nicer place, my dear." Xibalba replied, taking her hand and leading her to another of the legs of the humongous structure, this one less frequented by the mortals. None of the humans had apparently noticed, but there was a man wearing a suit standing guard at the side of the iron structure. When they approached, Xibalba's eyes flashed red, and the man noticed.
"Bonjour, Lord Xibalba." The man said, bowing slightly to greet the dark god. "We've been expecting you."
La Muerte was confused as to what was going on, but suddenly a light glowed and the door of a lift appeared, but again none of the humans were noticing. Xibalba led her inside the lift, and the doors closed.
"Mind telling me what's going on?" she inquired curiously.
"The humans are not the only ones here, you know." Xibalba explained. "the New World gods don't know this, but when Europe started to modernize some of the European pantheons decided to do so as well, if only a bit. This is a gourmet restaurant parallel to the one the humans have, but it's for gods and spirits only."
"How is it called?"
Xibalba smirked as the doors of the lift opened, and once more led her into an indoors space. "Welcome to Le Champs Elysées."
Again, the amazement was nearly too much for her to handle. It was a beautiful restaurant inside the Eiffel tower, it looked like those fancy French restaurants she had seen casually in books, the tables were adorned with pure white mantles, plates and sets of utensils, as well as two cups on each place. Most of them were occupied by either gods or fae such as elves, satyrs, fairies and many other creatures humans only thought of in their imagination, though the gods were in their human forms. La Muerte recognized a few gods either from books or from the Egyptian pantheon.
Apparently, Xibalba was so well known they had a regular table for him to sit, just next tone of the windows that overlooked the entire city; for this occasion it was decorated with lit aromatic candles and a small vase with blue roses. Xibalba pulled back the chair for his wife to seat, before taking a seat across her, then a fairy waitress handed them a menu.
"It's in French, don't they have one in Spanish?" La Muerte inquired after taking a read at the first entrées in the foreign language.
"Don't worry, I'll lend you a hand in ordering. But whatever you do, don't ask for escargot."
"What is it?"
"Snails."
La Muerte shivered in dismay at the thought of eating those. "So, what do you recommend?"
"Well, all food here is good, but I can order for you if you'd like."
"Yes, thank you."
La Muerte looked around at the other Gods and Goddesses as they chatted casually. "By the way, why is everyone here in their human guise if the humans don't know we are here?"
"Long story. The brief version, it's much less intimidating for the lower spirits and fae, so it was decreed that Gods and Goddesses had to take on a human shape to eat here."
"I don't know why Father never told us about this place. It looks pleasant."
"For dates it is." Xibalba blushed at this. "For family dinners, not so much."
Soon the same fairy waitress from before came to take their orders. La Muerte felt a bit out of place when Xibalba started talking with the fairy in French, she never imagined he'd be so fluent at it. Xibalba ordered them the quite a few dishes for the courses, considering rations here were very small. French onion soup for Hors d'oeuvre, boeuf bourguignon, a few cheeses and Beaujolais wine for the main course, macaroons and éclairs for the patisserie and finally some café liégeois and crème brulée for dessert. La Muerte was initially startled at how much food they had brought, but soon she saw why. Most portions were quite scarce, except for the main course.
"These dishes are so well-cooked and in harmony with the spices, I'd love to have the recipe." La Muerte commented, slicing a bit of her meat and taking it into her mouth, and there was a party of flavors inside her palate.
"Regina would too. She likes gourmet cooking." Xibalba chuckled, taking a sip from his water glass. "I'm a fan of it as well, in fact."
"I can see that."
Chuckling, they continued to chat during the Hors d'oeuvre and the main course, by the time they were at the patisserie, and then dessert, they were in a deep conversation.
"Why do French dishes have so little food?" La Muerte wondered outloud; she had eaten quite a lot and she still didn't feel full.
"Culture, I guess." Xibalba sighed, continuing to take spoonful from his café liégeois, wiping his lips with the napkin. "Sometimes makes me miss my mother's cooking."
La Muerte could tell he could now talk about his mother with no problem at all. "I guess her cooking was good if you say so."
"Good? No one could cook like her; she poured her heart and soul into her food. I loved it. Don't tell Regina this, but not even her food can be compared to mom's."
"Why not? You don't want her to get offended?"
"She's prideful in that sense, she feels proud about her cooking. And many other things. I have never admitted this to anyone, but Regina has been like a second mother to me like Emilio has been like a father."
"By the way, I've been hearing that Emilio has a crush on Regina?"
Xibalba chuckled. "Emilio doesn't want to admit it, but yes."
At about half past eight o'clock, Xibalba paid the bill and once more led La Muerte through the restaurant, into the balcony. Nearly all of Paris was below them, it was truly a beautiful sight.
"Ay, Xibalba, it's truly beautiful." La Muerte smiled, leaning against her husband's chest.
"I'm glad you like it, my dear. The sight from here is one of the most beautiful in the world.
The goddess made out of sugar glanced at Xibalba's dark wings curiously, wondering if he could fly. They looked all burn and ragged after all, maybe they couldn't support his weight. "Xibalba…"
"What is it?"
"Do you fly?"
"Well, I haven't flown in years. My wings are not like they used to be, but they have never failed me. I know I can count on them." The dark god replied, revealing his dark wings and stretching them proudly.
"How does it feel like to fly?"
"It's the best thing you can ever experience. You feel free, unrestrained, like nothing can stop you." Xibalba had an idea, and grinned in delight. "But why describe it when I can show you?"
"What do you-?" La Muerte yelped in surprise when out of sudden Xibalba picked her up bridal style and held her tightly against his chest. "Xibalba?!"
"Don't worry, I will go easy on you." He stretched out his wings, and jumped off the balcony.
"XIBALBAAAA!"
When he had reached his desired speed, Xibalba stretched out his wings and allowed the wind under his feathers to lift him higher. La Muerte clung to his neck and buried her face into his chest, completely terrified. Xibalba beat his wings to go a little higher, before glancing down at his terrified wife. "Take a look."
"Are you nuts?! Forget it!"
"Trust me, I'm not letting you fall."
La Muerte tightened her grip on Xibalba's shoulders, and finally gathered the courage to turn her head and look below. For one moment she was afraid of the height, but then it dissipated and she felt the safety of Xibalba's embrace. The wind caressed her face gently, and her long hair flowed behind her like silk, and the sight of the ground far below them no longer felt scary, but fascinating. Soon she was laughing in delight, even going as far as to release one arm and touch the air as they flew.
Even though they were already high in the sky, Xibalba felt like he was soaring even higher when he heard her laughing. It had been so long ever since he flew like this, and with company. Maybe he had just noticed, but her smile made his heart flutter and he just loved her laugh. She looked so happy as she looked down at the scenery.
La Muerte had never felt so free in her entire life. When she looked up at Xibalba, she saw there was a change in his expression. He looked like he was enjoying this, like he was in his true calling, he also felt free and unrestrained. When their eyes locked in each other's gaze, there was a small spark, a feeling of warmth in their chests and the sudden desire to remain like this. After a little bit more of flying, Xibalba reluctantly snapped out of the dreaming daze he was in. "Hang on."
"Where are we going now?"
"You'll see."
Having the feeling they would teleport yet again, La Muerte closed her eyes shut, and her suspicions were confirmed when out of sudden she felt waves of energy rippling the space-time around them, and when she opened her eyes, she realized the city of Paris was gone, and was replaced by countryside that extended through miles below them. Xibalba felt his wings starting to tire and he started to descend, slowly as to not scare the heck out of his wife (again) landing just in the middle of a cornfield. His wings disappeared into his human glamour.
"Where are we now?" La Muerte inquired, looking around at the beautiful scenery.
"This is the countryside just around Barcelona, Spain. It's perfect for horseback."
"Horseback?"
Still grinning, Xibalba took his fingers to his mouth and gave a long whistle. La Muerte was confused for a moment, before she heard neighing and hoofbeats on the grass. She glanced at the direction they came from just in time to see their horses-also in normal horse glamour- galloping towards them, stopping a few steps away. "How did they get here?"
"I have tricks up my sleeve, you know." Xibalba said, patting Medianoche's neck when he came closer. "How about it? Want to take a look around?"
"I don't see why not."
They mounted their horses and led them through the fields, forests and roads, sometimes passing by villas. Xibalba thought for a moment, and glanced towards a direction, before grinning. "Can you keep up with me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Follow me."
Xibalba steered his horse to the left and spurred it into a gallop, towards an open field. La Muerte figured what he wanted to do, and was soon galloping after her husband, through and a vineyard, the both of them laughing the whole time. La Muerte had never had so much fun, she was enjoying this date very much, she couldn't wait to tell her sister about it. When they were nearing a stone fence, Xibalba and Medianoche jumped over it with no problem; La Muerte was about to brake her horse in fright, but she didn't want to get behind again during a race with Xibalba, and tightened her grip on the reins, swallowing her fear the best she could. She closed her eyes shut when Blanca leapt over the fence and landed perfectly on the ground, continuing with her canter.
Xibalba laughed and steered Medianoche a bit closer to his wife. "Haha, not bad for your first jump!"
"T-thank you!" La Muerte stuttered, still bewildered.
"Come along! We're almost there!"
When Xibalba steered his horse towards the forest, La Muerte followed after him, though he had slowed his steed into a trot, prompting her to do the same. As they were about to go into the forest, La Muerte noticed this part was far from any human settlement. "Where are we going?"
"It's a nice place to relax, Epona brought me here once." Xibalba replied, and judging by his blush she could guess what they had done here. "You're going to like it."
He parted open the small 'curtain' of branches and leaves.
La Muerte gasped.
