Felix really hoped that Dolores had found someplace to tuck away in and cover her ears because his were aching already and he didn't have her ability to hear everything. No one was actually yelling but the raised tones were truly frustrating the normally jovial and festive man.
After Mirabel had shown off her giant metal jaguar (just when Felix thought he had seen everything the Madrigal family could throw at him) and removed her and Bruno's bags Julieta and Agustin had decided to take her to her room only for Mirabel to laugh as they walked her up to the nursery.
"Thanks but I don't think Antonio wants me crashing in his room," she'd told them all.
"Nonsense, this is your room," Julieta had told her with a smile.
But Mirabel had merely shook her head, still keeping her tone polite and pleasant though as she stepped out of the nursery. "It hasn't been my room for a decade. I've spent more of my life not being in that room than I have calling it mine." She'd then shot an odd look at the wall. "Casita and I are going to have a long talk about not giving me a room of my own."
The family had shifted awkwardly at that. "Nina," Pepa had finally said softly, "I know you are upset about not getting your gift-"
"Oh, I'm long over that," Mirabel had said with a shrug. "My gifts aren't like your guys, that's fine. Met plenty of people just like me and just as many that could make all of you look like babies when it comes to raw power." She'd then placed her hands on her hips. "My issue is that casita could have at least made me a regular room…"
The house had actually SHUDDERED at that before the floorboards had rose and fell, guiding them to Bruno's door… which had changed. Now no longer did it show the slightly frightening image of the man in the middle of a vision but instead now had Bruno standing with his back against Mirabel's. He had his hand up, fingers curled into a fist with an aura around it. Mirabel meanwhile had her smith's hammer held up with a determined look in her. Above them had been a jaguar head while below were all manner of rats in… fighting poses?
"Hey, thanks!" Mirabel had said, patting the wall and opening the door to Bruno's room.
Felix would never forget the shock of seeing how Bruno's room had been altered. He'd only been there once or twice before the two had left, when he'd been sent to retrieve Bruno for dinner and been forced to climb the stairs to his tower and then spent the rest of the night getting sand out of everything he wore. It had been a quiet place, like stumbling on a desert oasis that had begun to dry up.
But when Mirabel had opened the door the family had found that the room was completely altered. Bruno had whistled as he walked in, running his hand along one of the many columns that held up the stone overhang they had walked under. It was a bit like the casita, as the structure seemed to be built around a central area, but instead of it being open to the sky it was enclosed by a massive dome painted with murals of all sorts of different fantastical creatures. There had been a large pool in the center and several fire pits that surrounded it. There had been benches all over and raised platforms and strange trees that Felix had never seen before.
Mirabel's eyes had sparkled as she ran in before twirling around and beaming at Bruno. "This… this…"
"This is The Bureau!" the two had said at the same time before running and hugging each other.
"I wonder if my room is the same!" Bruno had declared, rushing to a door and throwing it open. "YUP!"
"Do you think it's a replica or did casita make a portal?" Mirabel had asked.
"We'll have to check! I don't remember that door so it's possible casita and the buareu talked…"
Eventually the adults had left when it became clear Mirabel and Bruno were going to be busy for a while. Isabela and Dolores had left as well to continue their duties but Luisa had lingered, promising to head out in a few minutes while Camilo had completely ignored everyone as he focused on asking Mirabel all sorts of questions and Antonio had happily dashed to the fountain, giggling as he played in it.
"Mama, it is fine," Julieta said for what felt like the tenth time, drawing Felix out of his thoughts. "Casita has changed things often. Remember last year when Antonio was in his climbing phase and it moved the nursery to the first floor to keep him from having an excuse to not use the stairs and climb up on the furniture to get to the second floor?"
Felix hid a wince at that; Alma had been rather biting in her condemnation at him and Pepa being unable to control their son. Of course it hadn't helped that Camilo egged his brother on.
"This is different," Alma said firmly. "That was shifting and shuffling. They destroyed Bruno's room!"
"Bruno doesn't mind," Pepa pointed out. "I've never seen him so happy in his room… he always complained about the stairs…"
Alma though merely huffed from her spot at the head of the table. "Bruno was being a good tio to Mirabel, humoring her. It is no different than when one of the children would show us a picture they drew that was little more than scribbles and asked if we liked their doggy."
Felix frowned. That was rather insulting to not just Mirabel but Bruno as well. But he knew better than to speak up; Alma had her opinions and if one wanted to survive living with the Madrigals one learned when to be careful about expressing different opinions.
"We must learn what Mirabel did to change casita so we can make things right." She shook her head. "Her place is in the nursery. The candle chose not to give her a gift…"
"Then how was she able to change casita, mama?" Pepa asked, keeping her tone as neutral as possible. "We can't have it both ways. Either Mirabel does have some power-"
"Which we all saw," Julieta said, cutting it. "Those animals…"
"A trick or something," Alma said. "I doubt very much Mirabel actually made them. Probably some traveling magician or a jungle witch put a glamour on some real animals, to trick us into believing they were armor."
"Antonio held one," Felix pointed out.
"Antonio hasn't even received his gift. He doesn't know what magic is like."
"As I was saying…" Pepa said, storm clouds forming over her head at being interrupted. She took a moment to calm down before speaking again. "Either Mirabel had a gift that lets her alter casita and you were wrong about her not getting a miracle or she has no gift and something else caused casita to change. Maybe even itself."
"Whatever Mirabel has it is no gift," Alma said firmly.
The adults shifted at that.
"You could ask to see her armor to prove your point," Bruno said, startling them all. He was standing the the doorway, casually pealing a pear. "Or me. Either is better than having secret meetings."
Felix ducked his head at that and he knew the others were embarrassed as well at being caught out but Alma merely met his eye with a flinty gaze. "We are discussing your room, Bruno."
"You are trying to find any reason to hate your own nieta, mama," Bruno counted, taking a seat at the other end of the kitchen table, one that was NEVER sat in because it was supposed to represent Pedro. Two rats scurried out of his robes and stood at attention, Bruno lightly petting them. "Casita corrected a mistake it had made, that is clear. We have asked for other rooms before, when we needed places to store things. Why not a room for Mirabel? And as for my room… I always hated it and I will take The Bureau any day of the week."
"What… is the Bureau?" Julieta asked. "You two clearly recognized it."
Bruno leaned back, staring at the ceiling and mumbling, "How to explain, how to explain" several times. "The bureau is rather like Casita. But it's also very different. It is sentient, just like casita, and helps us out."
"You and Mirabel?" Julieta asked.
"And the rest of our party," Bruno said with a smile. "In nearly every major town we've visited there is a door that, if anyone else tried to open it, would lead to just a brick wall or a sheet of wood. It is just a door on a frame. However, if you have one of these-" he pulled his robe and shirt down a bit to show that upon his collar bone there was a black mark that looked like a child's scribble, "-the door recognizes you as part of the party and instead leads to the Bureau."
"Bruno!" Alma snapped. "Did you mar your flesh with a tattoo?"
"No, mama," Bruno said as he let go of his shirt, letting it spring back and hide the mark. "That is a mystical brand. It hurt for a second but then was rather cool to the touch. Gets slightly warm when the Bureau wants my attention but otherwise it is there just to help me enter the Bureau."
"And casita made a copy of this... bureau?" Augstin asked, trying to keep up.
"Actually I think casita made my door a portal to the Bureau." He smirked, looking down at his rats. "So the room you so desperately want me to return to doesn't even exist, mama. I am willing to bet that if Mirabel and I aren't around the door will just lead to a wall."
"And you think this is okay? To... to scar casita and link it with this strange building of yours?"
"SHE isn't scarred, mama. She is just using her magic to meet up with another sentient home. I think she'll get along well with him."
"Him?" Pepa asked, smiling slightly. "You call your home a him?"
"Because he is a he," Bruno said with a shrug. Felix saw the shuttered on the windows open and close rather rapidly and he was suddenly reminded of how Pepa had fluttered her eyelashes at him back when he was young and stupid and didn't realize she liked him and was trying to get him attention.
Alma though wasn't convinced, letting out a little huff. "Letting that magic infect our home... it is dangerous, Bruno. You should know better. The world is a dangerous place."
"Oh, I know mama, I know," he responded back, an odd glint in his eye. "Far better than you."
"Excuse me?"
Bruno smiled. "I merely speak the truth. The world outside our valley is full of magic and wonders. Fantasies of the greatest dreams... and the darkest nightmares."
"So you admit the outside world is evil and yet you allow it to come here."
Bruno tapped his finger against the table. "Mirabel grew up in that world you loathe so much, mama. She remembers you all but she came up in the outside world. For all intents and purposes she is a piece of the outside world. Do you hate her as well?"
"Mirabel will be straightened out soon," Alma said and Felix wondered if any of the others had also noticed how she hadn't answered Bruno's question. "Tomorrow you will go to the village to reacquaint yourself with the community. It has been a long time since you did your duty and they will need to be reminded of what you can do. As for Mirabel she will go with Isabella to help her with her chores. Julieta, I need you to go down to the village in the morning to arrange for Mirabel to have a fitting. She can't keep walking around in those trousers-"
"Bad idea," Felix muttered.
"Did you say something?" Alma said sternly and suddenly every eye was on him.
He had two choices: stay silent or speak up. And, much to his own surprise, Felix found himself talking.
"Isabella is like a fine oil. Perfectly smooth surface, likes to remain where it is. Mirabel... from what I've seen today she is a fire, burning bright and dancing about. You don't combine oil and fire together."
Alma frowned at that. "We need to f-"
"Careful with what you say next, mama," Bruno said dangerously, eyes glowing green and an aura of power surrounding him. The rats all rose up and fell into fighting stances, much to Felix's surprise, while Bruno leaned over the table, seeming to grow taller with each second. Alma actually pushed away from the table, a glimmer of fear in her eyes. "For ten years I helped raise that girl. She is as near to my heart as she should be to yours. I will not have you insult her."
The head of the family stared at her son in shock. "Of course I care for Mirabel-"
"You have a funny way of showing it, mama, though that doesn't surprise me as you've always had a funny way of-"
"Bruno!" Pepa hissed, a cloud forming over her head. "Don't talk to her like that."
"But it is fine for her to talk to everyone else as she does?" Bruno demanded.
"Luisa," Felix said quickly, once more drawing attention to himself because he knew if he didn't a fight would break out. "Luisa would be better for Mirabel to spend time with tomorrow. Mirabel clearly likes to use her hands, if she works with metal. She looks strong too. And Luisa is dedicated to helping the community... she does far more than Isabella, after all." Alma pressed her lips together at that and Felix fought back a smirk; oh, she didn't like it that the perfect Madrigal, as everyone called her, wasn't the best at something. "And despite all she does Luisa still wears dresses. It would be a better fit for Mirabel, at least to start off with."
Alma was silent for several moments.
"Yes, that will work."
Bruno rose. "Good. I am glad you all have decided on your plot to change Mirabel to fit your desires. I'll leave you to decide how you wish to change me when I don't fit your expectations anymore. Call me when dinner is ready."
The family stared at him in shock. Where... where had all this come from? This was Bruno! The man who stammered and shifted when he was the focus of attention. He never said no but rather just asked that people let him maybe not do something only to give in later.
Pepa finally spoke up, asking what they'd all been thinking. "What happened to you, Bruno?"
He smiled as he stared at her sadly. "I grew up."
The unsaid words after that hung in the air as he and his rats left.