Against All Odds

Chapter 3- Jealously

It was very late that night that Xibalba found his way back to the room Quetzalcoatl had lent him and his wife as long as they stayed in Aztlan. Most of the male Gods had entertained him to drinks in the mess, by a way to celebrate the upcoming birth of the baby. Veneno, however, was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn't be happier; there was something off about that guy. La Muerte had gone to supper with the other Goddesses, on the other hand, so he guessed she must already be in bed. Indeed, she was already asleep when Xibalba pushed open the door to the bedroom, her face beautifully serene as she lay under the sheet. His heart warmed when he saw the bump of his wife's belly from underneath.

Xibalba got changed, taking off his armor, gloves and crown putting on a violet bathrobe-styled dressing gown with darker purple spiky flames on at the end of the half-loose sleeves, around the kimono-styled collar and down the front hems; there were curved lilac flame patterns just above the dark purple of the sleeves. Xibalba tied the dark blue purple belt around his waist, closing the gown, though it left part of his chest and collarbone exposed.

As gently as he could, Xibalba lifted one half of the bed sheet up and climbed into the bed beside her. He let his wife wake. La Muerte shifted in her sleep, then slowly she turned over to look at him. She smiled and caressed his cheek with her hand, making him blush.

"Where were you, Balby?" she inquired, rubbing his lips with her thumb. "I was starting to get cold."

"Not anymore, mi corazón." Xibalba smiled, taking his wife's face in his hands and embracing her with one wing to pull her closer to him. "I'm here now, we can get all cozy now." However, before he could pull her any closer, she stopped him and pulled back slightly.

"Be careful with the baby, Xibalba." La Muerte scolded him gently, placing a hand over her abdomen.

"I don't think he'll mind if we sleep close to one another, will he?" Xibalba replied with a grin, pulling her only a bit closer, only enough so that he could feel her warmth. Nevertheless, he stroked the bump of his wife's abdomen lovingly. "How's our little bundle of joy doing?"

"She hasn't kicked ever since this evening." The Goddess lifted the skirt of her pink- semitransparent night gown and rubbed her bare abdomen in hopes that she would get her child to kick, but it was to no avail. "I'm starting to worry."

Xibalba sat up in bed, and bent down to until his face was inches away from La Muerte's abdomen, then he placed his large hand on it, and rubbed it with his thumb.

"What are you doing, Xibalba?" La Muerte inquired curiously.

"Hola, pequeña. I'm papi, how's everything going in there?" the dark god chimed with a small grin. "I bet it must be quite boring, right?"

La Muerte rolled her eyes, but suddenly she felt something; her baby was starting to squirm awake, and it wasn't long before she felt a little kick. Xibalba smiled when he felt his son or daughter kicking against his hand.

"Looks like she only missed you." La Muerte smiled.

"Oh, I missed you too, baby-boo!" Xibalba laughed as he pepper

ed butterfly kisses on La Muerte's abdomen, making her giggle at the ticklish sensation, in turn getting their unborn baby to squirm even more, and give a few more kicks, as if she were giggling.

"Balby, don't you think we should let her sleep?"

"I guess so…" Xibalba sighed, laying down next to his wife again, embracing her with his wings before kissing her head. "Buenas noches, mi amor."

La Muerte snuggled deeper into Xibalba's embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Buenas noches, mi vida."

Outside, Víbora's shadow watched with anger and hatred as that damn tar face touched La Muerte's sweet skin with his disgusting tar hands, and the worst thing of all, she enjoyed it. He could do nothing as they went to sleep in each other's arms, breaking his heart further. It had taken the snake all the self-control in the world not to kill the bastard as soon as he had it in front of him, but his plans required discretion. Only a few days, then she would be his.

He went through the window of the guest wing that had been given to him and his 'sister'; Aimé had cast a spell on the door that prevented anyone from coming in inadvertently, and as a precaution, she also made the spell so that anyone who peeked through the keyhole would see them in their disguises.

"Stop torturing yourself, that'll make you angrier and it could ruin everything." Aimé rolled her eyes, setting her brush down.

"How can you be so calm when your own sister is sleeping with the man you say you love?!" Víbora hissed through clenched fangs. "And expecting his child?! Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?! It was supposed to be just her and me!"

"Would you have agreed to help me carry this out if you knew?"

"I would have! Anything that means causing pain to that… that…"

"His name is Xibalba, you know." Aimé made her way to bed. "I'd stop calling him immature names if you want to live to see another day."

"And what are you planning to do, if I may know?" Víbora inquired, taking seat in the couch.

"First of all, we make them doubt each other, that's the easiest way to separate them. Xibalba has to see you with La Muerte, and she has to see me with him, that'll make them doubt of the other's love. The quickest way to end a relationship is using Jealously. Then, at the ball, we make our move."

"What does 'our move' mean?"

"We give the final blow. You take La Muerte away, but not without calling Xibalba's attention; take her to a 'romantic place'."

"And then?"

"You kiss her. But make sure Xibalba sees it, and make it last enough so that he won't be able to see her rebuffing you. It'll make him lose all faith in my sister," Aimé grinned. "And La Noche will be there to comfort him, to make him know he's not alone."

"And me?" Víbora snapped. "I like the part of the kiss, but La Muerte is going to reject me when that happens."

"That's the best part, when La Muerte catches Xibalba with me, she too will lose faith in him. And that'll be your chance to win her heart."

"What if something goes wrong?" Víbora kept questioning her. "What if they recognize us? Or if any of the other Gods find out who we really are? Do you have a plan in case that happens?"

"You think I don't have that sorted out? Leave that to me and stop worrying so much." She hissed. "Now let's go to sleep. Our plan starts tomorrow."

Víbora was about to ask her why she got to sleep in the bed while he had to find a comfortable position in the couch, but decided to question her no further. If she was going to help him win her back, that was good enough for him.

Now, to find a comfortable position.

Next morning, the sun rose and danced through its daily route, announcing to every being, living or dead, mortal or immortal, that a new day had begun. All the Gods in Aztlan had already begun their day, each in its own way. Most of them were in their rooms having breakfast, but there were a few gods who chose to eat in the sumptuous gardens, to enjoy the morning song of the birds or the little animals scurrying around. Unfortunately for Xibalba, la Muerte was of the latter group.

"Really, my dear, I still think we should have stayed inside." The dark lord commented, taking a gulp of his orange juice. "I don't think all these animals will do any good to the baby."

"On the contrary, Balby, this fresh air will do perfectly fine." La Muerte replied, shifting in her seat. "It's better than being locked up inside a room all day."

For breakfast, Xibalba was having scrambled eggs with bacon and mashed potatoes, while La Muerte was happy with a small fruit salad. She would have usually had some pancakes or eggs, but her baby asked, or rather demanded, fruit. And the other Goddesses said it could be dangerous to deny one's craving while pregnant. And since the least thing she wanted was to indirectly harm her growing infant, she did as the Goddesses who were more experienced in all this motherhood stuff.

"You should eat some more, mi amor. You'll need more energy for the day, a simple mango mixed with apples, grapes and pears won't be enough." Xibalba commented, staring at his wife's fruit salad.

"Come on, Xibalba, it's not like I'm waling ten kilometers. I'll be fine. Besides, the baby wants fruit, I can't deny her that."

"Don't tell me you actually believe Toci's superstitions!"

"Not really, I just…" La Muerte stroked the bump of her abdomen, smiling when she felt her child squirming happily. "I just want our baby to be healthy."

"She will be, mi corazón." Xibalba placed his large hand on top of hers, embracing her with a large black wing. "The baby's going to be fine."

Just then, a little squirrel descended from the tree sharing its shade with the two Gods, and stopped just next to La Muerte's chair, looking up at her curiously. La Muerte took notice and smiled down at the little critter. "Hello there, amiguito." The squirrel was attracted by the warmth and tenderness in her voice, and climbed up her chair into her shoulder. Xibalba wanted to send that rodent screaming (or squealing) back to wherever it had its nest, but his wife looked so content he decided to let her enjoy it. La Muerte giggled when the squirrel gently licked her cheek affectionately, then jumped down to the chair's arm and sniffed the bump of her abdomen curiously.

"Be careful there, pequeño." La Muerte spoke gently to the squirrel, placing her hands on top of the bump in an almost protective way. "There's someone I love very much in here."

The squirrel understood, and carefully hopped over to the table, landing next to the temporally forgotten plate of fruit, squealing in delight. La Muerte felt little kicks from within her womb, it seemed like her child was enjoying the squirrel's company.

"Stupid rodent…" Xibalba muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes, but cried out in pain when his wife elbowed him. "AY! What was that for?!"

"Don't be like that, Xibalba. He has feelings too." She replied, gently scratching the squirrel behind the ears.

"It's just an animal, nothing more, nothing less."

"You'd be calling Ponzoña, Medianoche and your hounds common animals too, you know."

"It's not the same thing!

"What's the difference?"

Xibalba let out a groan of frustration and took another gulp of his juice. "I'm glad you're not in the humor swings stage anymore."

La Muerte shifted to look at her husband. "It wasn't that bad, Xibalba."

"Not for you, because you didn't a hundred and fifty slaps." The dark god rubbed his cheek in remembrance.

"You counted them?"

"More or less, mi amor. I still remember you sent me to sleep on the sofa on one occasion because I took you and the baby flying"

La Muerte couldn't help but giggle and snuggle into her husband's embrace at the remark. Suddenly, the little squirrel let out a squeal of fright and scrambled back up the tree. La Muerte looked up at the branches to watch its furry tail disappear between the leaves, and wondered what had scared it off; she gave her husband an accusing look.

"What?" Xibalba lifted his arms defensively. "Don't look at me! I didn't have anything to do with it, if that's what you're thinking!" Before he could say anything else, he felt a shiver run down his spine. He felt an new yet unfamiliar presence coming into the garden; in fact, it seemed that the garden itself sensed a dark presence, since soon all the animals were scrambling to go hide.

"Well, if it isn't my new friend, La Muerte."

Xibalba glanced at the two figures entering the courtyard, Veneno accompanied by a Goddess of white feathers and red hair. Like Ehécatl had said, her body was provoking and it would drive any man mad with lust, but not him. No, he only had eyes for his beloved wife.

Veneno had similar feelings as soon as he saw La Muerte, a mixture of anger that the dark god was touching her, and joy of seeing that she hadn't changed even though he hadn't seen her in eons. She was as beautiful, as radiant, as Víbora remembered. Her skin made out of sugar and all the sweetest things in the world, her eyes as golden as the marigolds that adorned her passionate scarlet dress, the sunlight caught in her silky raven hair. The bump in her abdomen was the only thing that made him repulse internally, the mere idea that Xibalba's spawn was growing in there. Still, she was so close Víbora wanted to reach out and touch her, and all the while her beauty, her splendid radiance, that majesty that fell from La Muerte like gentle raindrops form the clouds would have reduced him to tears.

"Notice me." Víbora pleaded in his head. "See through the mask, penetrate the disguise, see me for who I am. Show that you remember me, and then you can do as you like: you can banish me, you can slap me, you can hold me in your arms and say you love me, anything so long as you don't ignore me. You can do anything, provided you show that the time we once spent together meant as much to you as it did to me."

"La Noche, I'm glad to see you. I want to introduce you to my husband, Xibalba." La Muerte smiled at the red-haired Goddess, placing a hand on Xibalba's armored chest.

Aimé shivered internally when Xibalba took her hand and planted a kiss on it. "Mucho gusto, señorita." His voice was formally cold, which disappointed her, but the feeling of his lips upon her skin was enough for her.

"And I must guess that's your brother, right?" La Muerte inquired, glancing at the serpentine deity.

Víbora found that, between wanting La Muerte to discover him and wanting to revenge himself on Xibalba, his tongue was all tied up, "I… B… V-"

"This is my brother, Veneno." Aimé rescued him.

"I-I'm glad to make your acquaintance, M-Milady…" Veneno stuttered.

Xibalba noted the look he was giving his wife, and wrapped a wing around her while frowning at Veneno. La Muerte rolled her eyes. "Don't mind my husband, he can actually be quite friendly when he wants to."

Xibalba grunted and looked away, but nevertheless he pulled his wife closer to him.

"How about you join us?" La Muerte suggested. "We could use some company."

"Wouldn't you mind?" La Noche inquired, snapping her fan. "I wouldn't like to cause your baby any more frights."

"No, no, don't worry, that was just a kick."

"Well, if your husband doesn't mind, dear friend, I guess we could spend the morning with you."

All the while, Xibalba had been fidgeting with his snake staff, waiting till they left, but it seemed they would stay. Great. It got worse when La Muerte kicked his leg gently. "Huh? Oh, sí. I don't mind."

He just couldn't get the willies off him when he was near the snake man.