A while later they had to leave the garden, rather regretfully, La Muerte had to go back to bed for the time being. She finally found another thing in common with her husband, she certainly did not like to be stuck in bed as if she were a piece of glass which would be broken at the slightest touch. To make things worse, Xibalba had lots of paperwork and unchecked mail he had to see, despite his wish to stay with his wife and child as much as possible. La Muerte had smiled at him, stroking his cheek and telling him it would be alright, it was part of his job s King. Xibalba tried to look for an excuse to stay, but eventually he had to give in.

Xibalba went to his study and sighed in dismay at the seemingly piles of paperwork and some closed envelopes of different colors, wax seals and designs, thankfully accommodated in place by Emilio; making a mental note to thank the lizard later, he went to his desk and started with the dreaded task. His messenger raven was out of its cage, but far from flying away, the black bird was perched on its master's chair, ruffling its feathers. For a good while, the only sound in the room was that of Xibalba's quill scratching against the paper as he wrote, stopping every now and then to dib the tip on the inkwell, and continue with the task.

He was quite distracted, though, with all the thoughts of La Muerte and the baby he nearly wrote her name or made a small sketch of her eyes on the papers, and this made the process slower. By the time he had filled out at least a good quarter of the first pile, he decided to check his mail, which he hadn't checked since his dates with La Muerte as Osvaldo. Most were letters from other pantheons, a few asking for his experience in strategy and battle to lend them a hand, but he knew he'd decline all those offers. Now he had no time to waste on fighting others' battles, he had a battle of his own which he needed to finish and win.

However, there was one letter which caught his eye. It came from a friend of Epona's, he hadn't personally met her, but Epona mentioned she had a nice place where one could go to relax and forget about their problems. He thought it would be nice to take La Muerte away for a few days, she needed a rest from all her worries and demons, and he was certain he himself needed a break from all of it too. Thankfully, Epona's contact would lend him her place for a while… Hopefully.

Sighing, Xibalba opened the envelope and took out a small slip of parchment to take a quick read at it. As his eyes scanned the writing, his lips curved upwards into a smile. He had the answer, now he only needed to tell La Muerte, and check on one more thing… But for the time being he had to make sure his wife was in condition to travel, he guessed he'd have to wait a few more days to make sure the baby would be out of danger. Still, he wrote a note, put it inside an envelope to seal it with wax, and allowed his raven to perch on his glove to give him the envelope. Afterwards, the faithful bird flew out of the window and away to deliver he message.

As he continued to work on the paperwork, he thought of his idea, trying to think of a special way he could ask her. It had to be something simple but emotional, something that would let her know how much he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her. He had thought of many ideas, but always discarded them for finding them either too simple or not romantic enough, he wondered if that's how all men felt like when they were going to take such a big step…

In an hour, he was half-way done with all the paperwork, but he decided to give it a break. He still had a few days while La Muerte recovered from all the experiences, and he needed a bit more time to plan out his idea, anyway. He thought maybe La Muerte would be hungry or have a craving, so he left his study and headed towards his room, his staff tapping on the ground as he walked. Not long afterwards, he gently knocked the door; it might be his room, but it was occupied by two girls now, they needed their privacy.

"Come in."

He opened the door, finding La Muerte still on bed, but she was humming a small tune as she knitted a little pink bootie, which only needed a little foot to be complete. Xibalba smiled at the sight warmly. "How are my two girls doing?" he inquired as he walked closer.

"I think she's napping…" La Muerte said, placing one of the knitting needles down temporally to rub her abdomen. "I wish I could feel her kicks already…"

"Are you hungry? Any cravings?"

"Not for the time being…"

"Are you sure, my dear? You know I don't mind getting anything you'd like, as long as you and the baby are happy."

"A little bird told me you had a good taste in cheese."

His expression brightened. "I have a few types, if you'd like to test them out." He snapped his fingers, and a plate with a few slices of different cheese appeared on his hand. "I got Roquefort, Camembert, Feta, Emmental and Taleggio. They're not fancy, but they're fresh and well aged."

La Muerte took a slice of the Camembert and gave a bite. "It's delicious." She sampled each slice of cheese, and each time there was a party of flavor in her mouth. "You do have a good taste in cheese."

Xibalba blushed. "Thanks. It's all made by hand, it's much better than artificial ones…" He thought now might be a good time to bring the topic up. "Say, La Muerte, I've been thinking… How would you like taking some vacations?"

"Vacations?"

"You know, you need to relax a bit, and I thought a small holiday would help. When you're better enough to travel, that is…"

"Where would we go?"

"It's someplace nice, by the ocean. It belongs to an acquaintance of Epona who said she would lend it to us for a few days."

"You have been thinking about it for a while, haven't you?"

"Sort of. I mean, we didn't get to have a proper honeymoon, so…" Xibalba blushed. "Well… I think I should make up to you, and-" Much to his surprise, his wife smiled and placed a finger on her lips.

"That's sweet on your part, my love…"

His face was still red. "I… You think so…?" His feathers bristled in embarrassment. "So, do you want to go?"

"I'd go anywhere with you. But you haven't told me where it is."

"It's in Hawaii. It's a bit far, but our father won't be able to find us there. Not even the Book of Life will be able to tell where we are."

"What about the spell you cast?"

"It doesn't let anyone in, I never said anything about it keeping people from going out." Xibalba grinned. "They won't suspect a thing."

La Muerte sighed as she continued with her cheese sampling. "This would be even better with wine, but I can't drink while pregnant…"

"Well, I have something close to it." Another snap of his fingers, and this time a glass filled with purple juice appeared in his hand. "Fruit juice. No alcohol, but it has a taste similar to wine."

La Muerte took the glass gently and took a sip. She smiled. "It's delicious."

"Is there anything else you'd like?"

"I'm okay, really… How was your paperwork?"

"A nightmare." He sighed and lay down next to her. "Makes me wish I could just make origami with it."

"Don't be like that, it's a necessary work."

"I don't want to stay all day in my study doing paperwork when the baby is born."

"Who said you'd have to?"

"I can't leave it pending, I'm afraid. It's one of the downsides of ruling a realm. I swear, my first days as King were a nightmare.

La Muerte decided to change the subject. "So, how many Recipes do your cooks know?"

"Mostly European, but they make other types of dishes when I ask them to. Most of my cooks are from different countries, so it's easier for them."

"What do you mean? How can you tell if they don't remember their birth names?"

Xibalba sighed. "Well, though they don't remember their lives, their unconscious retains some traits of the time they were alive, and I can tell by certain habits or accents where they came from."

"Regina mentioned once they've been here since you were a baby."

"They've been here long before I was even born, I think."

"And have any of they…" La Muerte was reluctant to finish the sentence. "…turned into ash?"

Xibalba went serious, sighing sadly. "A few of them had. When I was a child I witnessed some of our servants fade away into oblivion, and when I asked Father about it, he simply said they were 'the weakest'. It wasn't until I turned thirteen that Emilio finally told me they had lost all hope, and in this place that is the equivalent of losing the will to live. I was terrified at the idea of losing Regina, Emilio and the others…"

"That's why you're so nice to them?"

"I guessed that if Father's cruel treatment had something to do with it, all they needed was a little kindness. None of them has faded into oblivion ever since I ascended to the throne."

By then, they had snuggled close to one another. Xibalba's wing had gotten used to wrapping around La Muerte, and his feathers curiously bristled lightly to make her feel a ticklish sensation. He wished he could control his feathers, but they reacted to his emotions. La Muerte found the ticklish sensation pleasant and snuggled her cheek against the feathers, surprisingly finding them to be very soft despite looking ragged.

She fell asleep when she felt a clawed, but gentle hand stroking her head.


Three days later, Asclepius said the baby was out of danger, enough to travel in carriage, at a slow pace. By midday, Juarez had already hitched Medianoche and Blanca to the carriage. He felt a bit bad that Nezmal had stayed behind with Epona, but it had been for the best. It was a long way to go, so he had made sure to pack extra grain to feed the horses. Medianoche snorted in annoyance, stomping his hoof on the ground. He still did not like pulling carriages, Blanca was much more open-minded and didn't mind.

Juarez glanced at the doorway when he heard laughter, and saw his master coming down the steps, holding his wife bridal style in his arms. La Muerte was giggling. "I can walk down the steps perfectly on my own, love." She said.

"Oh, no, my dear. I told you you'd be as comfortable as possible, and you know I'm a man of my word." He replied, grinning as he planted kiss on her forehead.

As always, Emilio was trailing behind them with a notepad and a quill. "I will keep your paperwork in order and make sure everything is in order while you're gone, My Lord. Is there anything else you need?"

"That will be all, Emilio." Xibalba said. "But I'll ask you to write me every few days to inform me of how things are going."

"Yes, My Lord."

Juarez jumped down from the drive's seat to open the door of the carriage. Xibalba helped La Muerte climb into the carriage, while looking down at Emilio. "Listen, Emilio. When La Muerte and I go, the spell sealing off the realm will probably disappear. If Itzlacol or Sol show up around here, don't tell us where we went, understood?" his tone was serious.

Emilio nodded. "As you wish, My Lord. Have a good journey."

Xibalba nodded and stepped into the carriage, while Juarez closed the door and climbed up into the driver's seat again. Waving at Emilio on last time, he gently touched Blanca and Medianoche's rear with the tip of a thin, painless whip. The horses started trotting down the path, both pulling the weight of the carriage. Inside, Xibalba had placed lots of soft cushions for his wife to get comfortable, his wing acted as a kind of cushion as well.

"How long do you think it will take us to get there?" La Muerte inquired.

"About seven hours, I'm afraid." Xibalba explained. "Before we can teleport we have to leave the pantheon's jurisdiction, and even then it takes a few more hours to arrive to the place."

"I guess it is very far…"

"Don't worry, my dear. I brought a snack for the way there." Xibalba grinned as he brought out a basket. "I asked Regina to make some dumplings."

"Dumplings? They are a sort of empanaditas, right?"

"Yes, but Asian. They are smaller and can be filled with anything." Xibalba took out a smaller round basket filled with said treat.

There was a pleasant smell coming from them, which made the baby squirm in expectation. "I think the baby wants to taste it…" La Muerte grabbed one of the warm dumplings and took it into her mouth, smiling. "It's delicious!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if Regina won a sort of prize from her dishes…" Xibalba chuckled.

"Do you know how the place we're going is like?"

"I've never been there, but I hear Hawaii is like a sort of paradise. Blue ocean, golden sand beaches, tropical fruits among other things, but overall beautiful twilights…"

"There's an actual place where you haven't gone?" La Muerte raised an eyebrow playfully.

"Well, there's not an actual Pantheon there, it's a group of major spirits which protect the region. And yes, I do not know those."

"Who is this friend Epona mentioned?"

"Have you heard of Sekhmet?"

"From Egypt, right? I think I saw her once or twice when we went there, she was a bit aggressive…"

"She is, but she's a good friend of Epona. I wasn't in her good graces because I'm related to Zipacna…"

"Wait, they are…?"

"Were. Sekhmet is still sore about it, and she sort of has it against me because I didn't warn her beforehand Zipacna was that kind of man… But she had such a good impression of you she agreed to lend her villa to us."

La Muerte sighed and looked out the window. "I'm still worried… You said the spell would disappear when we left the Land of the Forgotten…"

"By the time they figure it out we'll be out of the Book of Life' jurisdiction, they won't be able to find out where we are."

"But they could come down…"

"Believe me, Emilio would rather turn into dust than reveal our location. All of them… Not even Lord Tezcatlipoca would be able to make them say anything, he has no actual authority over servants of the Thirteen Realms, only the Aztlan servants."

"I know that, but… what about Itzlacol?"

"Don't worry, my dear. I'll take care of that when the time comes, for now you just relax…" Xibalba planted a kiss on his wife's head, stroking her cheek tenderly.

"Okay… I trust you…"

They thought it would take a long while to get to their destination, so they decided to sleep a while. Xibalba pulled his wife into a hug, placing his hand on her abdomen as they descended into a slumber with smiles on their faces.


Epona had taken Nezmal out for a ride, deciding to test him out a bit. Nezmal did his best, prancing happily around the countryside, often galloping alongside wild horses before going away again. He had a lively spirit and was happy to please others, and thankfully her magic had helped with his breathing problems, which was the reason Xibalba had to leave him behind the last time he brought him. Medianoche would never be replaced, but he had grown a bit attached to Nezmal. After another few minutes of galloping and jumping through obstacles in the forest, Epona gently pulled his mane to motion him to stop, halting into a walk as they came to a stream.

Epona sighed as she patted Nezmal's neck, allowing to drink the fresh, clean water. "You're getting used to me, aren't you? No matter what others say of you, you're an excellent horse. You just needed some proper care." She ran her fingers through his mane, giggling when he snored and shook his head. "Aww. Nezmie, you know you have to socialize more with the other horses. Maybe you'll find some nice friends around, or a nice mare… who knows? Tomorrow you could go with the herd."

Nezmal snorted, but suddenly he lifted his head with his ears pointing to the front, and neighed in fright, shaking his head as he stepped back with while his ears flattened against his head.

"Nezmal, what's wrong?" Epona asked him, patting his neck when he stomped his hoof on the grass. "Calm down… Nezmal, it's okay. It's okay, what is it?" she got worried when he started to tremble in terror. "Shh, nobody is here to harm you… It's okay, you're safe…"

"Are you certain of that?"

Epona gasped in surprise when the familiar, masculine voice spoke. She quickly dismounted the horse and placed herself between him and the intruder as he came out of the shadows with a grin, though she could tell it was not a friendly one. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, I'm certain of that… Itzlacol." She hissed through grit teeth. While Nezmal was usually protective, he was too terrified of his former master. She spoke to Nezmal telepathically. "Nezmal, step back. We can get away if we're quick enough." She now spoke to Itzlacol. "What do you want, Itzlacol?!"

"Epona, you offend me!" Itzlacol feigned being hurt as he took a hand to his chest. "I just want to talk to you." He glanced at Nezmal, smirking when the horse neighed in fright and tried to hide behind Epona. "I see Xibalba gave you my old stallion."

"Oh, what was that? You actually care to whom Nezmal was given to?" Epona scoffed. "What happened, Itzlacol? You got too much heat into you?"

Itzlacol let out a chuckle. "Not really. I don't really care if he would have been given to a horse skinner, I just wanted to confirm my suspicion."

"Suspicions?" Epona stepped back again. "About what, if I may know?"

"That you and Xibalba were behind La Muerte disappearing." Itzlacol stepped forward. "It's too suspicious that he used a Forbidden Spell just when La Muerte supposedly went to 'spend a few days with Xochiquetzal'. It looks like he wants to keep everyone out for some reason…"

Epona froze momentarily, before she managed to regain her composure. She had to dissuade him from it. "I don't know what you're talking about!" But as she tried to run away with Nezmal, Itzlacol had teleported in front of her and grabbed her by the neck. She choked at his crushing grip on her throat, but not enough to suffocate her, only to keep her subdued. "LET GO OF ME, YOU DEMON!" she struggled to get away from him, but he held unto her by the waist. "You're hurting me!"

Itzlacol ignored her, taking a sniff from her neck. She stank of horses. "If you smelled better, I would consider making you mine…"

"Like I would allow you to!" she struggled to get away, trying to keep his lips and tongue away from her neck as he 'tasted' her, but she winced at the fingers on her neck.

"I'm stronger than you and I could make it without any effort. Too bad you're not really my taste."

Epona glared at him with hate. "Strength is nothing when you have no brains, you.. Ginger gail…! Obviously your 'taste' is over expected, I know men like you…" Epona winced again when he ran his free hand down her waist. "If you had the chance you'd defile any woman… you have no honor or principles!"

At that comment, Itzlacol laughed. "Please! Who needs honor when you can have whatever you desire in a much easier way without it?"

"Why are you here?! What did you come looking for?! I doubt it's your horse!"

"Where's La Muerte?" Itzlacol narrowed his eyes, all humor gone. "She's with him, isn't she?"

Epona closed her mouth shut. She wouldn't tell him anything. She glared daggers at him with all the hatred in the world, but she was running out of air, and her breaths became frantic as she managed speak. "Y-Yes…"

"I'll take that as a positive answer." Itzlacol's grip on her throat loosened enough for her to be able to breath again. "And now that we're on it… Did you know glue comes from horse skin?"

"W-What…?" Epona's eyes widened in horror. He couldn't mean…!

"You know, it's a discovery that dates back a good while, but it's been quite useful for humankind. To this day, I think in some underdeveloped countries it's still acceptable to eat horse meat or use their hides for winter months…"

Finally, Epona managed to free herself from his grip as she stepped back, her look dark, a cold fire in her expression. "DON'T YOU DARE TO LAY A FINGER ON MY HORSES!"

"Oh, I won't…" Itzlacol grinned smugly. "If you're a good lady and don't tell anyone this conversation ever took place."

Epona couldn't move. She was stiff and wary as Itzlacol walked around her, running a finger down her spine, chuckling mockingly as he teleported away. She didn't know what to do, she hoped Xibalba and La Muerte were already away. Epona's eyes swelled up with tears as she pulled her hair forward, trying to hide the bruises in her neck. Nezmal relaxed when his former master disappeared, and approached the goddess with concern.

"Go home, Nezmal… As fast as you can, boy. Don't be afraid, go…" Epona whispered, but then he stepped closer and nuzzled against her shoulder. She patted his nose. "I'll get help, but I need you to go home and warn the other horses… please."

Reluctantly, Nezmal gave a neigh of agreement and turned away to gallop away just as his mistress disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

She only trusted a person for this matter.