Against All Odds

Chapter 16- Resolution

Juarez was surprised to see his Lord's mistress stumbling out of the castle gates, but he nevertheless rushed forward to help her up despite the difference in height. "Milady, where are you going?!"

"Is Medianoche saddled up?" La Muerte inquired gently, in risk of collapsing with every step.

"N-No, my lady, Lord Xibalba told me to put him in his stable to rest."

"I need to lend him for a while."

"W-What?"

Medianoche lifted his head from his pile of hay and saw La Muerte approaching the door of his stable, then sliding it open. Instinctively, the horse walked out of his box.

"My lady, where are you going?!" Juarez asked in shock as La Muerte climbed unto the unsaddled horse's back.

La Muerte ignored him this once, and galloped out of the stable, not hearing Juarez's protests; when she was half the bridge, she heard the clashing of a sword against flesh, and screams of pain now louder than before. She motioned Medianoche to gallop faster, and headed towards the source of the sounds.

Both Víbora and Xibalba were heavily wounded and exhausted. Xibalba was clutching the wounds in his now-exposed chest, blood flowing through his fingers and unto the ground. He had lost many feathers on the fight that now lay scattered on the ground, there were cuts and bruises on his arms, and he had lost one glove. He clutched his sword tightly, struggling not to let it fall.

Víbora had deep cuts and bruises all over his body, all bleeding heavily, one of his fangs had been sliced off, and there was a scar across his left eye, with blood dripping from his scaly lips. Two of his horns had been sliced off too.

"Give up, Xibalba…" the blood serpent hissed with a grin. "You're in a worst state than me, in any way I'll emerge victorious…"

"I won't let you lay a hand on my wife nor daughter…" Xibalba snapped back, gritting his teeth at the harsh pain on his chest, his body weakening due to the blood loss. "They're the most important thing in my life, I won't let you take them from me…"

Fed up with all this emotional talking, Víbora let out a roar and swung his tail at the dark god, sending him against another rock, hurting his back even more. Xibalba let out a cry of pain as he collapsed to the ground, his grip on his sword finally loosening as his vision started going black.

Víbora smirked and slithered forward towards Xibalba, readying his only remaining fang for a fatal strike; he wanted his enemy to die a slow and painful death, and watch as he took back what was rightfully his. Xibalba tried to stand up, but his body felt heavy and he slipped back to the ground with a loud thud. As he felt Víbora's shadows upon him, he knew he would not make it. He prayed La Muerte and his child would be safe, at least until any of the other gods arrived. But he lamented the fact he apparently would not be there to see his baby grow up.

"La Muerte…" he whispered in an inaudible whisper, a tear running down his cheek. "I'm so sorry…"

Víbora unsheathed his fang. "Now, die!"

"NOO!"

Before he could strike, a blur of marigold petals flew towards the fallen dark god and La Muerte materialized in a fraction of second, and she embraced her husband tightly, holding him against her chest, glaring into Vibora´s eyes with hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

"If you want to kill him, you'll want to kill me first." She hissed, her voice full of hatred for the first time in her entire life.

Víbora stopped in mid-air, staring down at his live with disbelief and hurt. "L-La Muerte…?"

"If killing me will sate your rage because I didn't love you back, then do it! Kill us! But kill us both!" she pulled Xibalba closer to her and buried her face into his chest. Xibalba wanted to tell her to leave him and run, but his throat was dry and he could not speak.

Víbora was frozen in confusion. He still did not understand the reason she loved Xibalba so much she was willing to die alongside him. But he would never lay a harmful hand on her for he loved her too much…

….

…Did he?

For the first time in his life, Víbora started to doubt of his feelings; he was in love with La Muerte, that was a fact, but his love for her had caused her so much pain… he kidnapped her, he hurt her, he nearly killed her, and he had the guts to say he loved her? But seeing her here, sobbing and fearing for both hers and her husband's life, made his stone-cold heart crack and ache for her. He had always liked to see her happy and smiling, but she was doing quite the opposite now, because of him. And it killed him.

Víbora considered the idea of letting them both live, but he still couldn't stand the thought of being apart form his Muertita; however, now it was for a different reason. It was no longer because of her being with another, but because he couldn't stand to know that she hated him… Víbora spotted Xibalba's sword a few feet away, and slithered towards it.

La Muerte caught a glimpse of the blood serpent picking up Xibalba's sword, and feared the worst. Thinking Víbora would kill them, she pulled Xibalba's weakened form the closest she could to her. He could barely move, but the dark god managed to return the embrace and wrap a wing around his wife protectively. La Muerte sobbed and buried her face into his chest, not minding that it was still bleeding.

"Shhh…." Xibalba cooed at her to sooth her fear. "Don't be afraid, mi corazón… It'll be over soon…"

La Muerte looked into his eyes. "Te amo, Balby."

Xibalba managed to smile as he wiped a tear rolling down her cheek with his thumb. "Yo también te amo, mi corazón."

Víbora watched as they shared yet another kiss. However, he did not feel angry, but brokenhearted. If he killed Xibalba, she would never forgive him. But even if he let him live, she would still hate him for all he did. In any way, he lost. There was only one path to choose.

Víbora raised the sword; Xibalba and La Muerte prepared themselves for the final blow. The sound of a blade cutting through flesh echoed in the air, but they didn't feel the blade had even touched them. Both death gods lifted their gaze to see what had happened, but their eyes snapped open in a mixture of bewilderment, horror and disbelief.

Víbora had run the sword through his own chest.

The blood serpent choked and spat blood, as he felt the area around his heart where he had run the sword through ached, then became numb, and he collapsed to the ground, his lungs desperately trying to inhale more air. La Muerte didn't know what came over her, why she just did what she did, but as soon as her brain processed what she had just seen, she gasped in horror.

"VÍBORA!" she rushed forward towards the dying snake, and lifted his head from the ground to look at his eyes. "What have you done…?!"

Víbora looked up at her beautiful eyes. He hoped that in his last moments, she did not see the monstrous being she had come to hate and repulse, but the adorable hatchling who had once so delighted her hours.

Despite his injuries, Xibalba managed to regain some strength and stand up, approaching his wife and his… no, now was not the time for that. He stopped when Víbora's reptilian eyes set on him, but he didn't sense any kind of anger or spite in them any longer.

"The better man won, Xibalba…" Víbora choked. "Take good care of her…"

Xibalba didn't say anything. He simply nodded solemnly.

"Víbora, talk to me!" La Muerte tried to keep him awake. "Don't close your eyes, just talk to me!"

"So cold…" Víbora murmured.

"Why did you do this, Víbora?!"

"I told you I would die if you willed it, La Muerte…" he managed to smile in spite of the pain. "I'd rather die than to live knowing you hate me."

La Muerte choked back tears of regret. "Víbora… Oh, Víbora…"

"I'm so sorry for everything, my love… I was so blinded I didn't realize the pain and danger I put you and your daughter too… I know it's a girl, I sensed it when I touched your abdomen back in the caves…"

"Don't talk, Víbora, save your strength, we can get someone to fix this-"

"No. They can't. Even if I'm saved, I'll probably be executed for treason anyway, I'd rather die no and save them the bother."

"Ay, Víbora… I'm so sorry I couldn't help you…" La Muerte was weeping now, recalling their more innocent days, back when nothing in the world mattered, when they'd play ball in the meadows of Aztlan or swam in the lakes of Tlaloctlan together. Víbora also recalled those moments, and wondered if things could have been different if only he had thought less in himself and more in her.

Víbora felt his heart beat decreasing in speed and rhythm, and knew his death was close. "La Muerte… Could you do one last thing for me?"

She blinked her tears away in surprise. "What?"

"Would you kiss me at least once? I want to leave this world knowing I got to feel your lips."

La Muerte said nothing for a while, but when she reacted she looked back at Xibalba, though she said nothing. Xibalba didn't need to hear it; he gave her a nod, leaning unto Medianoche's body as the horse came closer to his master to help him remain on his feet. La Muerte shifted her gaze back to the blood serpent she held in her arms, and she planted a kiss on his scaly lips.

Víbora felt like the happiest man in the world when he felt her lips touching his, willingly this time, and he couldn't help but make a purring sound within his throat. The red-scaled snake smiled and a single tear rolled down his cheek as his eyelids started shuttering.

"T-Thank you… And good b-bye…"

Víbora's gaze shut down forever as he closed his eyes, still smiling, and his body lay still on the ground. La Muerte couldn't contain herself any longer, and she started to weep for the death of her dear friend, holding his head closer. Xibalba stared at the scene sadly, not removing his gaze off Víbora's corpse; he wondered if he and the blood serpent could have been friends, were the circumstances different. Finally, his body could take it no longer and he collapsed to the ground, clutching at the gashes in his chest, gritting his teeth at the sharp pain; his vision started going black once more, but this time he managed to see La Muerte turning around to see if he was okay, and immediately coming to his side and holding his hand, pleading him not to leave her too. HE caught a glimpse of his servants coming from behind her, shocked and horrified expressions on their faces…

Then he lost consciousness.

When he next awoke, he found himself in his bed (whose sheets had already been changed with clean ones); he tried to sit up, but a harsh pain made him lay down again. Examining his body, he found that his chest, torso and waist were wrapped in bandages, his right wing had a splint to keep it unfolded so the bone could heal, and his left arm was similarly encased in a partial cast, resting on a sling. Xibalba looked around the room, and found he was alone… No, he spotted his wife's familiar shape sitting in his rocking chair, her eyes gazing down at a familiar bundle in her arms, before looking up when she heard him stirring awake; she smiled when she saw him.

"Hey, Balby." She stood up from the rocking chair and approached him, sitting down in bed next to him and stroking his head gently. "Did you sleep well?"

Xibalba smiled weakly at her as he reached out his uninjured arm to touch her cheek and caress it. "Muertita… You're okay, mi amor…" he saw the baby in her arms, peacefully napping while suckling on her pacifier. "Is she okay?"

"Perfectly, mi vida." La Muerte smiled as she rested next to her husband, on the side of his healthy wing to avoid hurting the other. "Only missing you."

The baby sneezed and started opening her eyes to find herself gazing into her father's adoring eyes; curiously, as soon as she saw him she waved her little arms at him and her tiny fingers tried to grasp on his moustache, making both her parents laugh softly.

"Hola, mi pequeñita." Xibalba smiled at his child as he reached down with his right arm and started playing with her fingers, tickling at her nose; the baby giggled and managed to grip on his finger with her tiny hand. "I'm happy to see you too." Suddenly he felt a harsh pain on his casted arm and he winced, his feathers bristling in pain.

"Are you okay, Balby?" La Muerte asked him in concern, placing a hand on his chest.

"I'm fine, muñeca, it's just a scratch…"

"Emilio said you'll have to rest for a few days, you have lots of fractures."

"What? Since when did he study medicine?"

"Balby!"

"It's just an assumption, my dear."

The baby gurgled and finally managed to grab unto her father's beard, running her fingers through it, wondering what it was made of. Xibalba smiled and stroked her cheek with his thumb gently, before a bell rang in his mind.

"La Muerte, we should let everyone know that we are okay, they must be worried sick about us."

"I already took are of it, Xibalba, don't worry."

"Took care of it? What do you-?"

Before he could even finish the sentence, the doors burst open (Startling the baby and making her cry) and Zipacna, the Candlemaker and the rest of the other Gods entered the room in a rush. Xibalba nearly had a heart attack, and he instinctively wrapped his good wing around his wife and child.

"Hermanito! You're okay!"

"Whoah, man! You look awful!

"What happened? Is everything alright?"

"Who delivered the baby?"

"Boy or girl?

"What happened to Víbora?!"

"One at once!" Xibalba snapped, startling the others into silence. Satisfied, he continued. "We're okay, I've only got a few scratches."

"Scratches?" Xochiquétzal inquired with a raised eyebrow. "You look like a mummy, but uglier."

"Just wait till I get this bandages off me…"

"Now's really not the time for you two to be bickering." Quetzalcóatl mildly reproached them. "What happened to Vibora Colorada? Did he get away?"

La Muerte and Xibalba glanced at each other solemnly, before Xibalba replied. "Víbora's dead. He killed himself with my sword."

"Ha! Good riddance!" Zipacna stated in a good mood. "We won't have to worry about him any longer!"

"How's the baby? We read in your letter that it was a girl." A few of the gods who had wagered the child would be female snickered triumphantly. "Xibalba delivered her, right?"

"Don't remind me…" Xibalba sighed. "I was both happy and nervous."

"So, have you named her yet?" The Candlemaker inquired. "I really need a name or Book won't stop bothering me about it."

"Now that you mention it, no. We have not chosen a name for the baby." Xibalba glanced back at his wife. "So, my dear, I recall you were about to tell me a suggestion before we were… interrupted."

La Muerte looked down at her baby and watched as she continued fidgeting with her father's beard. She had the perfect name for her baby.

"Marigold." She smiled sweetly, stroking the baby's head with her thumb. "Her name is Marigold."