"Juli! Juli! Wake up!" Julieta sat up in bed, blinking slightly as she tried to clear the sleep fog on her mind. Pepa was calling her at… she glanced at her alarm clock, three in the morning. Something must have happened.

All at once she remembered the past few days, Mirabel being attacked and not knowing who was behind it, and the fear that someone else would be attacked as well.

She flew out of bed, wrapping her robe around her before rushing to the door, yanking it open, "What happened? Has there been another attack?" she asked, "Is Mirabel okay, Luisa?" they were worried that Luisa would be the next to go as she was the first one to completely lose her gift.

"One question at a time," Pepa pleaded, "Mirabel and Luisa are both fine, but there has been an attack of sorts."

"What happened? Who? You?" Julieta asked.

Pepa chuckled, "Luisa and I both heard someone prowling around the kitchen, we both reacted before finding out who it was."

Julieta groaned, placing her hand on her forehead, "It was Camilo getting a midnight snack wasn't it?"

"It wasn't Camilo," Pepa insisted, her eyes gleaming in excitement, "It was Bruno, Luisa's making sure he doesn't disappear on us again while I fetch you."

"Bruno?" Julieta repeated, "You don't think he's the one…" she trailed off not even wanting to think the rest of that sentence.

"He claims that he isn't involved."

"Where in the world have you been?" Pepa demanded as soon as she had Julieta by her side to question Bruno, "Why come back now?"

"Well…" Bruno frowned, how was he supposed to explain that he had been living in the walls for the past ten years and hadn't been planning on coming back when Luisa had caught him looking for food, "It's a long story," he admitted.

Juileta stood up, "I'll make us something to eat," she announced, giving her brother a once over, "You look like you could use a hot meal."

"Make his favorite," Pepa insisted, "And then we won't give it to him unless he answers all of our questions."

"That's not nice, Pepa," Bruno insisted.

"Just answer her questions Bruno, you know that she'll just take the plate away from you herself if you don't."

Bruno knocked on the wooden table in front of him, rapped on his head once and then tossed a white powder over his shoulder, before taking a huge breath and asked nervously, "Did you know that there's a hidden room behind the dining room wall, the one with the family tree on it?"

"No," Pepa confessed, her cloud growing extremely dark overhead, "are you telling me that you've been living in a hidden room this whole time? You didn't really leave?"

Bruno chuckled slightly, "It was what was best for the familia," he insisted, "I wasn't around to curse people, but I still could watch the kids grow up, plus it was kitchen adjacent, free food! Juli's cooking."

"So that's where all the food was going," Julieta announced as she put on some leftover soup to heat, "I thought it was Camilo."

"Focus Juli," Pepa snapped, "You've been living in the walls for the past ten years? Why? Why are you only now showing yourself?"

"Again long story of why, as for showing myself, I was just looking for food when you and Luisa tagged teamed me."

"You better start explaining now," Pepa insisted, "The soup's almost done."

Bruno knocked on the table once more, tossed another handful of salt over his shoulder and began to tell him about the vision he had had the night of Mirabel's fifth birthday. How it showed the miracle in trouble, Casita breaking and Mirabel in the middle of it, and then how it would suddenly change and Casita would be whole. The only thing constant with the vision was that Mirabel was very much involved with it.

Julieta frowned, handing him a large steaming bowl of soup, before sitting down next to him, "What does that vision have to do with whoever attacked Mirabel?" she asked, "it has to have something to do with it. I mean you saw Casita cracking and the Magic being in trouble, and that certainly is happening now."

"But what does Mirabel have to do with all of this? She doesn't have a gift?" Pepa pointed out.

"No but she was the main constant in the vision, rather the magic was in danger or not, she was standing there," Bruno insisted.

"It almost sounds like, from what you told us, that perhaps Mirabel is the key to protecting the magic. I mean the magic's in danger, Mirabel's there, the magic isn't in danger, Mirabel is still there, over and over again. She's protecting the magic."

"But…" Bruno started to protest.

"And whoever, or whatever, is attacking the magic, attacked Mirabel first to get her out of the way," Pepa announced, "This is huge, I'm going to go get Mama."

"Please no, not Mama," Bruno pleaded, but Pepa was already out the door.

Alma smiled as she looked around the breakfast table, her heart warm as she saw her family complete once more. Now the only thing she had to do was find out who attacked Mirabel and deal with them before anyone else was hurt. Today was going to be a busy day.

"Familia, today is a good day," she insisted, smiling brightly, "I know that we are all worried about our gifts and what happened to Mirabel, has anyone had any leads?"

"I'm following up on something," Dolores confessed, "The other night, the cracking started long before Mirabel's picture fell off the tree, it started as soon as Mariano and his mother showed up for dinner, and I've noticed cracking every single time Isabela is with him. I just don't know how they are connected, he was so concerned about Mirabel when we learned that she was missing. I don't think that he's the one who attacked her."

"Interesting," Alma said, pulling out a notebook and paper, and jotting down what Dolores just said, before sliding it across the table to Mirabel.

Mirabel glanced at it, reading what was written, before saying out loud, "Mariano has nothing to do with this," she insisted, before handing the paper back to her abuela and returning her attention to her plate.

"What was that just about," Camilo demanded, giving Isabela a weird look.

"What was what about?" Isabela asked, blinking.

"This!" Camilo insisted, shapeshifting into Isabela and pulling a hopeful face, which was quickly schooled into a pleasant smile, before turning into a disappointed face, before once again disappearing, before shapeshifting back into himself, "You looked hopeful when Dolores mentioned that Mariano seemed to be involved, and disappointed when Mirabel said she was wrong."

Julieta, turning to her oldest, "Mija, if you know something about Mariano that the rest of us don't, you should tell us, okay?"

"It's nothing Mama," Isabela insisted.

"It didn't look like nothing," Camilo insisted.

"It's nothing."

"Isabela doesn't like Mariano," Dolores announced.

"What?" Isabela, her parents, and Abuela exclaimed in surprise.

"You don't like Mariano," Dolores repeated, looking at her older prima, "You're never excited to see him, always glad when something comes up and a date gets cancelled or cut short, and you always groan, lightly so he can't hear you, whenever he reads you poetry."

There were nine pairs of eyes on her, Antonio and Mirabel being the only ones not looking at her, Antonio was too young to understand what was being said, and Mirabel was deaf.

"Mija?" Julieta questioned.

"Fine," Isabela snapped, "I don't like Mariano, I don't like growing the same flowers over and over again, I hate having to smile and act as if my world is all sunshine and roses. I want to be allowed to have bad days like everyone else, I want to be able to get dirty and run around and not have anyone judge me. And I am sick and tired of wearing frilly dresses like I'm some living doll!"

Isabela blinked, that had came out fast and all of the sudden.

Alma's heart sank, she had no idea that Isabela had been holding that in for so long, "Why didn't you say something."

"Because it was for the good of the familia!" Isabela shouted, causing Dolores to cover her ears, "Because I knew that if I didn't do what you wanted you would shun me and push me to the side like Mirabel and Tio Bruno! I thought it was a small price to pay, my happiness for love and acceptance!"

Casita rumbled and cracked around them as Isabela sat back down in her chair, wondering when exactly she had stood up during her confession.

All eyes shifted to Alma, how would she responde to this confession, "I did not know that you felt that way, Isabela, I am sorry, I will talk to the Guzmans immediately to put an end to your betrothal."

"Gracias," Isabela said softly, glancing down at her plate.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Alma asked. She was greeted by silence, "Good, Julieta, are you still planning on taking Mirabel to the doctor today?"

"Si, as soon as I'm done here, I will head over and set up an appointment, hopefully I can get one for later today."

"Excellent," Alma said, "I have a council meeting this morning, perhaps someone saw something during the gift ceremony that will be helpful."

"I'm going to look around the nursery, see if I can't find something that can't tell us about who attacked Mirabel," Agustin added.

"Excellent," Alma said, "Please everyone if anything comes up, don't be afraid to tell us."

At this point, Mirabel stood up, grabbed her plate, and walked off to the kitchen.

Isabela watched her go, "Mama, do you think Mirabel will be able to go shopping with me this morning, there's this outfit I've been eying for some time that I would love Mira's opinion on. I can't remember the last time I actually spent time with her."

"I'll come with you as well," Luisa offered, "A fun girls' shopping trip sounds like fun. Besides, if something really is attacking the magic, and Mirabel really is the only thing standing between it and the magic, you'll need someone strong to deal with any threats you come across."

"But I thought you said that your gift was gone yesterday."

"It was, but it seems to be back this morning, maybe I just needed a break from it," Luisa shrugged, "I'm still going to take things easy, just in case it quits on me again."