The centaurs had immediately galloped all their way from the fields, but as they entered they could tell their mistress was not the same. There was a dark air around her, and her blue gentle eyes were aflame with cold ire. Zipacna stood next to her throne, but even he looked nervous as he saw her sitting on her throne, her eyes cold and hostile.

"Milady?" The head centaur, Ironhoof, asked while managing to camouflage his nervousness.

"My dear Ironhoof…" Epona's tone was sharp and brittle, her gaze thunderous. "I don't know if you noticed, but all the horses from the stables are missing!" she finally stood up from her throne, walking over to the centaurs, glaring them daggers. "Can anyone explain to me what happened while I was gone from the moment I left with Nezmal?!"

Another of the centaurs spoke. "We were patrolling the area when we heard a commotion in the castle. Some of our brothers were attacking the stables, but before we could do anything, a malefic power stopped us. By the time we regained consciousness, the horses were missing and the traitors gone."

There were no tears left for Epona to shed, she simply glanced at Zipacna, shaking with anger before glaring back at her subjects. "And the free herds? Are they still out there? The herds? Kelpies?" her temper spiked when the centaurs didn't respond. "I asked you a question!"

"The wild herds and the Kelpies are still there, hidden but well."

Epona let out a sigh of relief as she collapsed back on her throne, her red curls covering half her face. "Since I have no more horses here, I want you to go search for any in every single corner of the realm. I don't care how long it takes you, I want my horses back! Or at least a clue to what happened to them!"

Ironhoof nodded. "It will be done, milady."

Epona watched as the centaurs left the throne room to fulfill their task; they knew when she was not in the mood for any kind of playful behavior, they knew when she was at the verge of unleashing her usually well-concealed wrath, they knew when to get away from it. However, as soon as the doors were telepathically slammed shut, Epona's mask of apathy completely broke as she finally fell to her knees, bursting into hot tears of anguish intermingled with anger. Zipacna instantly reacted and kneeled next to her, pulling her close. "Don't worry, we'll find them…" he was worried she would reject any sort of comfort at this moment, but surprisingly she returned his embrace.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this…" she whispered.

"No, no… I admit , you did freak me out for a while, but you acted like a true queen."

"I know, it's just… My horses are like children to me… I've known each one perfectly, everything about them…. If Itzlacol were to keep true to his threat…" She continued to sob until she recalled something Ironhoof had said regarding the theft. "Zipacna… The centaurs said that the horses were taken right after I left with Nezmal… Itzlacol came a few hours later…" she started connecting the dots, realizing what had happened. "He didn't take them because I said things… he.. he had been planning to take them anyway!"

"You did mention he has tried to buy horses from you before…" Zipacna pointed out.

"Many times…" Realizing what had happened, Epona's tears dried as she went back to her feet, her expression stern. "Very well, if he wants to play games, we'll play games."

"What do you mean…?" He felt a shiver down his spine when Epona chuckled darkly.

"I will laugh the air out of my lungs when he is defeated and miserable…" she said. "I know so many people who would like to see him being drowned in Egypt."

"I know that, but how will we find your horses?"

"I don't know, but I wish at least one of them could have told me what happened, and where the others are…" She recalled there was one horse which could fit this description. "Nezmal…"

"What?"

"We have to find Nezmal!" Epona turned to Zipacna, stepping away from him. "I sent him home after Itzlacol left, he might have seen something! Think you could fly around and find him…? Please…?"

There was something to her voice… Contrasting the previous darkness and frozen anger she had a few minutes ago, her voice was pleading and begging him for help. Her eyes had gone back to their gentle demeanor, but there was a deep worry and sadness in them. It captivated him, and he could not bear to refuse such a request.

"I'll see if I can."

Zipacna turned into a raven and flew out the window, into the dark night. From the air, he could see the centaurs galloping around, looking for any sign of the stolen horses, or at least a clue. But he wasn't looking for the centaurs, he flew around looking for a certain Arabian stallion… or gelding, he didn't really know about that. Zipacna flew over the lakes as the kelpies-in their real, rather monstrous forms instead of the equine perfection glamours-roamed the surface, snorting and splashing around as if they knew something was happening. He was close to bumping into Pegasuses, thankfully spared from Itzlacol's scheme.

He had already flown above nearly half of the realm when he saw it. A red blur among the trees slowly trying to make its way back home. Zipacna flew down into the green foliage, changing back into himself just to land in front of Nezmal. The poor animal struggled to talk without his right hind leg, which he tried to keep off the ground as much as possible lest he wanted to be overcome by more painful cramps. Nezmal lifted his head in alarm, only to relax when he realized it was juts his mistress's… friend, he guessed.

"Oh, boy, what happened to you?!" Zipacna went to take a look at Nezmal's leg, but he didn't dare touch it, the last thing he needed was a kick in the nose. "Man, I don't think you'll be able to walk back home on your own… I hope you're accustomed to teleporting, Nezmie, because we're in a hurry!" He placed his hand on Nezmal's back, hoping the horse wouldn't startle as their bodies lost corporeal form and into a non-corporeal shape of raven feathers, then the mass of feathers zipped through the trees, across the fields and after a while they had crossed into the courtyard, then into the main hall, finally arriving to the throne room and Zipacna returning them both into their corporeal forms, the feathers dissipating.

Epona had been pacing around in worry when the doors opened and a trail of raven feathers flew in, before it changed back into two familiar shapes. However, she grew alarmed when she noticed Nezmal was limping.

"He's hurt his leg." Zipacna explained.

Gasping, Epona rushed to Nezmal and stroked his head, shushing and whispering comforting words before turning to Zipacna. "Was he alone?"

"Yes. There were no signs of the rest."

Epona glanced back at Nezmal. "Do you know anything, boy? How and where did you get hurt?" She patted his neck when he stomped his hoof, snorting in discomfort. "It's okay, it's okay… You're safe now, but did you see any sign of the other horses?"

Nezmal snorted. Zipacna stepped back slightly when Epona placed her hand on the horse's head, whispering some words in a language he didn't understand. Soon, a white light shone from underneath her palm, and Nezmal's eyes started to glow white, as well as Epona's. He didn't know what was going on, but he had the feeling it was a sort of mind-reading spell. His suspicions were confirmed a few seconds later, when the glowing disappeared and Epona turned paler than usual.

"The southern lands, near…" She realized what he planned to do.

"What? What is it? Where are they?!" Zipacna asked her, panicking.

"Near the ocean… In the Land of the Living, where the horses are picked up to… Horses from humans, but… He took mine there…" she patted Nezmal's neck. "Good boy…" She glanced at Zipacna once more.

"We have to go there! FAST!"

Before he knew what was going on, Epona had grabbed his hand and dragged him through the inter-dimensional tunnel often used by the gods to transport themselves anywhere. Usually it was very simple, but if used incorrectly one could get stuck in the time-space continuum for days unless brought out by more experienced gods. In this occasion, however, they were transported into a coastal area, right on a beach. A few meters away, on a grassy area, there was a large, tall corral, and inside the corral…

"We found them!" Epona felt a great weight being relieved off her chest as she ran towards the coral, followed by Zipacna. Zipacna stopped to take a look at the surroundings, and noticed there were no signs of any guards or humans…

Suddenly, when they heard Epona's voice, all the horses in the corral neighed loudly, turning around to the direction of her voice, scrambling to get to the edge of the corral to see her. Epona started patting noses and heads, and stroke necks in a comforting manner.

"We have to get them out of here before those people arrive!"

"Out of the way!"

Epona glanced back at Zipacna, who was charging a fireball, and quickly motioned all the herd to move away just as Zipacna released it and it struck the fence, shattering into tiny splinters. Once thir prison was broken, the horses galloped out into the open, all towards Epona, snorting in delight and relief, though Epona's attention was mostly on the foals.

But she had the feeling something was not right… she glanced around to see if all the horses ere there, but soon she saw there was a horse missing… A certain black Friesian mare was not among the herd…

"Camaria…"

Zipacna had heard that name before. "Medianoche's dam… right?"

"Yes, his mother."

"You think she managed to escape?"

The horses snorted as a negative response. Epona understood what they meant to say. "He took her…"

"Took her where…?"

"Itzlacol must have taken her for himself. He must have figured out she is Medianoche's dam." Epona said with dread.

"But I don't understand…" Zipacna gently shoved away the head of a brown horse who was nibbling on his cloak. "Why would he want her? I mean, she's a beautiful mare, but you said she's worn down. What would he plan to do with her?"

"Well, Xibalba has Medianoche, Itzlacol has had his eyes on him for a long time. Do you understand?"

"But he can't just mount that poor mare as if she were a-!" Zipacna stopped himself before he could pronounce the word 'sex doll'. If Epona heard her favorite mare being called that he would be in trouble. "You know what I mean! Besides, you said the mare is the one who decides if she wants to carry a foal, didn't you?"

"Yes, but Camaria is too old to bear foals." Epona frowned. "Obviously, Itzlacol either doesn't know or doesn't care."

"I bet he doesn't know. We have to hurry, if he finds out she is of no use, he will get rid of her!

"There's also another option. Medianoche loves Xibalba, but he wouldn't chose him over his mother. They were very close when he was a foal, she could be a bait."

"Xibalba took Medianoche with him to his 'honeymoon' as far as I know. How would he find out? I mean, I know horses know things, but that much?" He flinched when Epona raised an eyebrow at him. "Right..."

"There's something I don't understand. He has been begging me to sell him a horse, and he could have taken as many as he wanted, but he only took Medianoche's dam…"

"You have a point." Zipacna turned into a raven and landed on her shoulder gently.

"Everything he does usually is some sort of scheme to get at Xibalba one way or another."

"Oh, come on. What could he do against Xibalba with an old mare?"

"Take Medianoche. Like I said, Medianoche wouldn't chose Xibalba over his own mother no matter how loyal he is. That would hurt Xibalba hard."

"I can tell, he treats that horse almost like he were a brother, believe me, I can tell. He has confided in that animal more that in me, or Emilio and Regina together. But I wouldn't blame Middy if that happened, Xibalba and I would do the same if our own mother was taken…" Zipacna's expression saddened at the mention of Selena, but he regained his composure. "We have to do something, we can't just stand idly."

"What can we do?"

"Well, I doubt we can sneak into his castle again. I mean, after the fiasco with Sol, I bet he doubled security."

"You could disguise yourself as a raven. I don't think he'd suspect a bird."

"But he knows I can turn into a raven. Wouldn't he find it odd?"

"Not if you're careful…"

They would plan something out properly later. Right now they had a herd to take back home.


They had waited until the twilight hour to go ahead, when the sun was moments from hiding beneath the horizon to make way for the moon. Unfortunately, since they had no previous planning they had to improvise with whatever they had at hand, though Xibalba got ahead to the beach to prepare everything. It took him a while, but finally he managed to get everything ready. A beautiful trail of red roses ran along the beach, with candles at the sides, both leading to a small circle of seashells in the shape of a heart, adorned with vases of colorful flowers.

Xibalba was waiting nervously, fidgeting with the collar of his white shirt. He wondered if things would go as planned, he had heard that in this kind of parties usually something happened, a sort of bad luck thing that always gave wedding a unique karmic representation. But he didn't want any of those things happening today, he wanted La Muerte to have the best day-or rather, night- of her life to make up to her for… well, forcing her into marriage. He was disappointed that this was too simple, she deserved so much more…

Finally he spotted a figure in white coming down the path and down the rose trail. His heart skipped a bit as he watched La Muerte come closer. She was wearing a simple but beautiful white dress as a wedding dress, wearing white sandals in place of high-heeled shoes because of the baby, and her long hair was loose and beautifully curled, adorned with a pink tropical flower.

Unlike that day in which they had first joined their lives, there was a loving smile on her face as she walked down the 'aisle' and towards her 'husband-to-be'. She nearly giggled at the dumbfounded expression on Xibalba's face, his cheeks completely red.

"M-My dearest… you look…" he managed to say.

La Muerte giggled. "Pretty?"

"Radiant, I never thought I'd see you this beautiful…" he glanced down at her baby bump, still only slightly noticeable. The dress was loose enough not to tighten around La Muerte's waist.

"What? Is the baby radiant too?" she asked, giggling again.

"Through you, I can tell she is." Xibalba smiled at her, taking her hand gently as she looked into his eyes.

"This is beautiful…" she whispered.

"Not as beautiful as you, mi amor." Xibalba's eyes were moistening with tears of joy as he returned the loving glance. "Whatever did I do to deserve you?"

"Balby, are you crying?" La Muerte blushed at the compliment as she watched the crystalline tears roll down his cheeks.

"I am… La Muerte?"

"Yes?"

"You didn't answer my question. What did I ever do to deserve you in my life? To deserve your forgiveness after what I did?"

"Well, you are as stubborn as a mule, for starters. You never stopped insisting even after all my attempts to drive you away, you saved me in more than one occasion, you took care of me and the baby…"

"That's what I was supposed to do…" Xibalba sighed sadly. "Again, I'm sorry for how I acted…"

"It's okay… I resented you for it, but know why you did it now…"

"I know… that's why I want to start over, but in a more optimistic way."

"Optimistic?"

"You deserve the best, and… well, you didn't get that at our first… wedding, that's why I want to give you the best now."

La Muerte smiled. "Ay, Balby…"

He just loved how she called him by their childhood nickname, reminding him of better times. He smiled as he held both her hands, holding them up close to his chest. They hadn't had any wedding vows at their first… wedding for obvious reasons, a mistake he now intended to rectify. "My dearest and beloved La Muerte, ever since you came into my life I melted under your spell… I always felt like you somehow cast a spell on me. I never thought I could ever learn what true love is… I can tell you now that the very first time I saw you I fell for you, even if back then I never realized because I didn't know what it meant to be in love. Now I do, and I will never let any harm come to you and our baby…" he placed one of his hands on her abdomen once again. "A baby I'm happy to be having with you. I shall love you both in both difficult and peaceful times, in illness and health, in danger and safety till the end of time…"

La Muerte's eyes were swelled up with tears of endearment as he finished. She wondered if he had just improvised or if he had been practicing for a while, she guessed it was a sort of combination of both options. Anyway, now was her turn. "Xibalba, I must admit. When I first met you, I never thought I would ever come to love you like I do now. There were a few times when you drove me mad with your stubbornness, but that was the thing I loved about you even if I never realized it." Your determination to fight for your desire, your great capacity to love… You were never the monster I thought you were, you just needed to be heard out, you were very hurt and you tried to protect your feelings. But now I promise you I will always love you, no matter what obstacles we come across, we will overcome them together, the three of us."

Their hands locked into a tender hold, and both spoke simultaneously. "My heart belongs to you…"

With those words, they exchanged the rings, in this occasion they were simple gold wedding bands, but they didn't mind. Their marriage was sealed with a kiss; unlike the first kiss in their previous wedding, this one was tender, passionate and very long. Xibalba stroked his wife's cheeks as her hands went to rest on his shoulders. When they finally pulled back, they panted a bit to regain their breath.

"I love you…" Xibalba said, smiling.

"I love you too…" La Muerte was surprised when she was picked up bridal style, and she barely had time to cling to Xibalba's neck as he flapped his wings and took flight, flying up at a higher level towards a small cliff that overlooked the beach, just underneath a large tree. The place was also adorned with candles and rose petals, though in this occasion they were white. "Did you really make all of this?" she inquired in surprise at the beautifully accommodated décor.

"I told you, all the best for my wife." Xibalba said, smiling at her tenderly. The next step in his mental list to make this a memorable second wedding for his wife was their nuptial dance, which they didn't have in their first. "I think you noticed I'm not that good dancing, but I must ask you…" he held out a hand to her. "Will you grant me this honor and dance with me?"

La Muerte giggled as she grabbed his hand. "I wouldn't want anything else."

The two lovers stepped closer as Xibalba gently placed his hand on La Muerte's waist, while she placed her hand on top of his shoulder, then they started to dance at a slow but rhythmic pace, in rhythm with their own tunes in their heads, coincidentally both thinking of the same song. Their gazes were locked lovingly as they danced, recalling their dance on top of the cathedral in Venice.

"You know…" Xibalba commented while glancing down at his wife's abdomen. "It's not everyday I get to dance with two girls at the same time."

La Muerte smiled at him. "I hope she will have your musical talent."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure she will… Hey, you know what I've been thinking?"

"What?"

"What if we redecorate the castle a bit when we go back? You mentioned once you wanted to paint the walls. Remember your old room? You wanted to adorn the walls with red flowers so it wouldn't feel so dark."

"Indeed I did, you said something about the nursery too,"

"Yeah, if you want to change anything about it…"

"No, it was perfect! I loved the little mobile you made for the cradle."

"I used to have one of those when I was a baby… mamá always thought about everything…" the mere mention of his mother was enough to make him sad for the moment as he let out a small, sad sigh.

"I bet she would have been very happy to be a grandmother…"

"She would have been the happiest…" he remembered who he was with. "Well, second happiest."

"I wish my mother could have met her grandbaby too… She loved babies…"

"I can imagine… I don't know why, though, but I feel like…"

"Like what?"

"I don't know… like both my parents would have been happy…" He didn't really know if Akrinok would be happy if he had ever found about this, yet deep down something told him he would have in a way… "But it seems only Sol will have the opportunity to meet his granddaughter…"

"Ay, Balby…"

"Though now that I think of it, Sol will ask for my head when we return home, won't he? We can only guess what is going through his head."

"Maybe he's invading your castle… or he already did, and panicked when he didn't find me there…" La Muerte sounded worried.

Poor Emilio. "Say, there is something I'd like to ask your opinion about…" The next step was to slice the cake together, but considering the circumstances and lack of wedding cake, he had improvised. Releasing his wife's hands, Xibalba snapped his fingers and made a rather small, but familiar, cake appear on a small plate. La Muerte recognized it almost instantly.

Molten chocolate cake.

"Mamá's recipe." Xibalba explained. "The one you made for me when I had to stay in bed. I'm not the best chef in the world, but mamá left the instructions… so I gave it a try."

La Muerte blushed in delight. "Ay, Balby…" She didn't protest as he took a small slice of the cake with the fork, unleashing a tasty molten chocolate filling, and held it out for her to taste. She took the piece into her mouth, and smiled at the deliciously sweet taste.

"So? How is it?" Xibalba inquired shyly.

"Delicious." La Muerte gently took the fork from Xibalba's hand, then she cut a small slice and leaned it to him. "Open wide!"

Xibalba accepted it, and soon he was licking his lips in delight. "I can say I'm proud of myself."

"Me too, Balby." As they continued to enjoy the cake, La Muerte noticed Xibalba was letting her have most of it, while he only limited himself to take tiny fork bites. "You should enjoy it too, you know. You made it, after all."

"You craved sweet things for a while, besides I think the baby wants it more than I do."

"Baby wants her papi to enjoy his own cake."

Xibalba thought for a moment, before smiling slyly. "Okay, but just one bite. I need to keep fit for my wife." With that, he took the last piece of the cake

La Muerte laughed, smacking his shoulder playfully. "You dork!"

"Come on, now. I know the same way I love everything about you, I learned that how we look is important for the other partner as well."

"I don't mind if you're slim or no, Balby." La Muerte wiped a small speck of chocolate from the corner of her husband's lips with her thumb. "All I want is your love."

"Oh, that's all?" he leaned closer, grinning mischievously, but before he could react La Muerte had already pulled him by the beard into a passionate kiss. Soon Xibalba was corresponding the affectionate gesture, but as the kiss turned fiercer he recalled La Muerte had just recovered, and started to retreat, pulling back.

"Xibalba, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to hurt you or the baby…" Xibalba said, looking down at her belly in worry.

"Xibalba, I know you'd never hurt me or the baby."

"Yes, but you're very sensitive with this, my dear."

La Muerte giggled teasingly. "Come on, what happened with the daring dork I met?"

"That insensitive idiot is gone. I care about you, I don't want to make the same mistakes again." He blushed deeply when his wife tip-toed on her feet to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you." She smiled sweetly at him.

"I love you too…" he responded, pulling her closer. "With all my heart."

They shared one more gentle kiss before noticing the sun had already hidden, and the starry sky was making way for the moon as it made its way through the night. Thinking the cold air might not be good for the baby and his wife, Xibalba gently picked her up bridal style once again, this time teleporting them both back into their bedroom. Much like the beach and the cliff, it was beautifully decorated in a romantic way. Aromatic vanilla candles burned gently, the creamy duvet had been replaced with a passionate red one, and on top of it there were pink, white and red rose petals scattered harmoniously. La Muerte wondered if he had that in mind, it would be a good way to close with golden brooch. Xibalba lay her down on top of bed carefully.

"No cuddling tonight?" she asked teasingly.

Xibalba smiled as he sat down next to her to plant a kiss on her cheek, then he slowly moved to her lips, taking her face in his hands. La Muerte tenderly returned the kiss as she pulled him closer, her arms wrapping around his neck as she helt his fingers brushing her hair aside gently. But as the kiss started to intensify, Xibalba started to pull back, hesitating, but she wouldn't have any of that. La Muerte wrapped her legs around his waist to keep him from pulling away.

"La Muerte…" Xibalba whispered, but she placed a finger on his lips.

"Shhh, it's okay…"

La Muerte pulled him back into the kiss, but this time he didn't pull back. La Muerte placed her hands on his chest, just where his heart was to feel his heartbeat. For a moment both had placed their hands on top of La Muerte's abdomen, and they thought they felt the baby shifting inside, wondering what was going on outside. Xibalba smiled and continued to kiss his beloved wife. Soon enough, he was slipping her dress off while she took off his shirt between their kisses and caresses.

That night, their love was consummated for a second time.