So in my original layout, I planned ten chapters for this story. But as I'm posting this one I realized it's totally gonna be longer than that. Though I'm not sure how much longer. I guess we'll figure it out together.
~Enjoy
Dolores let out a small content sigh as she glanced out over the river. She and Mariano spent the afternoon together. Somewhere along the way the pair found themselves at the river. Taking advantage of the surprising lack of people, they'd decided to stop and rest. Mariano linked his arm with her own as she laid her head against his shoulder. Dolores decided to use the silence to check on the other members of the Madrigal family. Closing her eyes, she listened for the telltale signs of her family.
She could hear Julio praising her brother for his most recent catch. Which meant he was at the baseball field with his friends.
Luisa was chatting with her friend Tatiana about the new fantasy book the pair were reading.
Mirabel and Isabela were joking with the merchant boy.
She could hear her tía sigh at Tío Agustin, who'd explained how he'd managed to fall off a ladder.
Abuela wasn't far from them, talking with Osvaldo.
"I have a poem for you." Mariano's voice pulled her back to him. Tilting her head up she gave him a small smile.
"Another one?" Dolores chuckled. Over the last eleven months, since they'd started dating, she'd lost count of the poems that he'd dedicated to her.
"Of course. You're all I think of, Dolores." He said earnestly.
A loud roar of thunder echoed throughout the Encanto, making the young couple jump. Sitting up straight, Dolores covered her ears as she winced at the intensity of the sound. She'd been completely caught off guard by the sudden rumble of thunder.
Normally, there was a distinct humming sound that foretold her mother's thunder. Dolores knew that it was the sound of lightning forming. Growing up, she'd attuned herself to that particular sound. It was a warning for her. A prelude to the thunderous aftermath that followed a lightning strike.
An unsettling feeling grew as she waited for the ringing in her ears to stop. Though she wasn't sure what, something had obviously upset her mother. As the ringing disappeared, she tried to focus. Hopefully, she could find out what had upset her so much.
Dolores furrowed her brow as her hearing was flooded with the sounds of howling winds and static humming. The sound of the storm was far too strong, even for her super hearing. A shrill cry pulled her attention in a different direction.
"Parce, we have to go back! We can't leave her!"
Jumping to her feet, Dolores listened as her youngest brother pleaded with his jaguar. The sound of the animal's footsteps stopped as she heard her father and uncle approaching the pair.
"Dolores? Are you okay?" Mariano questioned.
"Wait." Holding up her hand, she silenced her boyfriend. Her papí and tío were now running towards the storm, while Antonio ran the other way. But, no matter how hard she listened she couldn't pick out any sounds of her mother through the intense winds.
"I don't understand. Did I do-"
"Mariano por favor. I can't hear her." Dolores pleaded. The dark clouds faded away. Tilting her head to the side, she tried again to focus on the sound of her mother's voice. The soft rumble of thunder. The beat of her heart. Anything.
But she couldn't.
Contrary to what everyone thought, her abilities did have their limits. The range of a soft noise, such as a pin dropping or heartbeats, were harder to hear. Especially from a distance. Louder noises, such as talking or singing, had a much larger radius.
"Hear who?" Dolores opted to ignore her boyfriend's question as she listened to the conversation the adults were having.
"What does this mean?"
"I don't know."
"I have to find her!"
"We will, Félix. But first, we need to tell the family. We're going to need help. Let's go back and gather everyone. Then we can figure out what we're going to do."
Dolores let out a squeak. She hadn't heard the whole thing, but it was evident from their conversation that something had happened to her mother. "Mariano, I have to go."
"What's wrong, my love?"
The dark-haired girl wanted to know the same thing. But the only three that could give any light to the situation were currently not giving her any insight. "I'm sorry. I'll explain later."
Pressing a quick kiss on his lips, Dolores spun around and started running. Her tío was right, they needed to gather the family. Camilo was currently the closest to her. Logically, he was also her best option. Knowing that he would help her gather everyone.
Dolores came to a stop at the far end of the field. She watched as Julio slapped her brother with his baseball mitt before pointing at her. Camilo excused himself before he jogged across the field to meet his sister.
"What's going on?" His brows were creased as he glanced to the forest where the dark clouds had been.
Dolores shook her head. "No time, we have to get the others."
"Are Mamí and Antonio, okay?"
"Toñito is." Dolores said truthfully. Antonio had made his way to Julieta and Agustin. The pair were now trying to calm the crying child. "All I know is we need to gather the rest of the family and meet with Papí and Tío Bruno."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Get Isa and Mira. They're both at the merchant's street. I'm going to get Luisa, Tía, and Abuela. We'll meet back at Casita."
"Ay, it looks like Pepa's upset." One of the villagers muttered as he took an arepa off of Julieta.
"Tell me about it! That scared the shit out of me!" The man beside him laughed, holding his hand over his wildly beating heart. Not one person in the Encanto had been prepared for the echoing thunder.
Agustin resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the men. Closing the distance between him and his wife, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder, pulling her against him. "Amor, are you okay?"
Julieta kept her eyes glued to the swirling dark clouds that hung over the forest. She couldn't explain it but there was a feeling growing inside her. "I have a bad feeling."
"I'm sure everything's fine. She probably seen a bug." Agustin chuckled.
"No. That's not it." The healer shook her head. Julieta knew all too well that her sister wasn't bothered by most insects. There'd been plenty of times she'd enlisted in the redhead's help to remove the pesky creatures from her kitchen.
No, this was different.
Julieta's eyes widened as she finally placed the nagging feeling. It was the same one she'd had the night Bruno left. The very same that warned her when her sister needed her help. Their mother always referred to it as their 'triplet intuition'. A special bond the three of them shared.
And right now, it told her that there was something very wrong.
"Tía Julieta!" Turning around, she was greeted by the sight of her youngest nephew. The dark-skinned boy had tears running down his face. His toucan companion sat in his hands. She'd just managed to put down the plate of food when the boy threw his hands out. The bird looked up at the oldest triplet. "Pico's hurt!"
Alma approached the trio. Coming to a stop beside her daughter she glanced at the crying child. "What's going on?"
"It's okay, Mamá. Pico just hurt his wing." Julieta assured as she broke off a small piece of an arepa. Holding her hand out Pico stood as he jumped from Antono's smaller hands to her own. Gently, he picked up the piece of food from her hand. After a moment Pico stretched his wings out. Flapping them gingerly, he took to the sky. "See? All better."
"Hey. You didn't run off from your mamí again, did you?" Agustin chuckled as he looked around, trying to spot his redheaded sister-in-law. They all knew that Antonio was a lively child and liked to run ahead of whoever he was with.
At the sound of his mother's name a round of fresh tears started to stream down the boy's cheeks. Julieta furrowed her brows. Crouching down, she lifted the boy into her arms. Antonio buried his head against her neck as he shook with sobs.
"Toñito?" Julieta shared a look with her mother, who just frowned at her grandson. Rubbing soothing circles on his back she tried to calm the boy. They needed more information. But in his current state of panic, he wouldn't be able to tell them anything.
"Mom!" Luisa shouted as she and Dolores jogged up to the group. Antonio twisted in Julieta's arms as he reached out for his sister, who took him without hesitation.
"Mamí's in trouble." Antonio hiccupped as he leaned back, rubbing some of the tears out of his eyes. "There were three men in the forest. She stayed behind so we could get away."
Alma's heart stopped at his words. Someone was threatening her family, again. She'd already lost her dear Pedro and now her daughter might have shared the same fate. No, she couldn't afford to think negatively. Her Pepita was a spitfire. Though her triplets tried to hide it from her; she knew of plenty of times her middle child had picked fights with men twice her size. She may have not come out unscathed but each time she'd been victorious.
Surely, she could handle the men. Right?
"Dolores, can you hear your mother?"
"No. I've been trying. But I can't hear anything." Dolores' tone was soft as she gave a shake of her head. "Papí and Tío Bruno are on their way back to Casita. I've already sent Milo to get Isa and Mira. They're going to meet us there."
Alma nodded. The six of them made their way back to their home.
Entering the living room, they were greeted by the anxious sights of the other three grandchildren. Dolores took the middle seat of one of the couches. She kept her hold on Antonio, who'd fallen asleep on their trek back to their home. Camilo sat on the edge of the couch to the left of his siblings. Mirabel took the open spot to the right.
The remaining cool colored family members took the two loveseats beside them. The sisters taking one while their parents took the other. Alma stood in front of her family.
"Abuela? What's going on?" Mirabel asked quietly, not wanting to disturb her sleeping cousin.
Alma sighed. Honestly, she didn't have a full answer for her. She'd heard Antonio's explanation, but it didn't clear up any of the confusion. She opened her mouth to respond but shut it as she heard the sound of the front door closing. Turning to the entry way she watched as her sons entered. Both of them wore dejected looks on their faces. "Bruno? Félix? Did you find her?"
Bruno shook his head. "No."
Alma cursed to herself. "What happened?"
"I had a vision..." The seer stopped. His hazel eyes scanned over the six faces of his nieces and nephews. Should he continue on with them there? He didn't want to worry them any more than they were. "Maybe you kids shouldn't be here?"
"We're not going anywhere." Camilo said with unwavering conviction.
Bruno glanced back to his mother, waiting for her to be the deciding vote. Alma could see the determination in the grandchildren's eyes. "Let them stay."
The seer nodded as he told the family of the vision he'd had and the events that had happened after. No one spoke as he told their tale. Each of them listening intently. Even after he'd finished, the room stayed silent as they processed the new information they'd been given.
Julieta was the first to break the silence. "What do we do Mama?"
"Whoever took her couldn't have gotten far. We're going to look for her in small groups. Until we know more, I don't want anyone to be alone right now. I want everyone in constant contact with Dolores." Alma explained calmly. Right now, she needed to keep a level head. Both for her sake and the family's. "We will find her."