At the Casita of the Madrigals, Alma Madrigal was inside of the kitchen with her daughter Julieta who was cooking while she was pacing and pacing then she finally sighed in frustration.
"Mirabel and Brunito should've been here by now. It usually does not take them long to run errands." Alma said, worriedly.
"Ma'ma, you know how Mira loves spending time with her Tio and Bruno's still getting used to being back in the village. I'm sure they'll be back soon." Julieta said, stirring the pot.
"If they are not here by the time your arepas are done, I'm going to probably search for them myself." Alma replied, looking exasperated.
The moment that was said, they heard the door opening. They looked up and saw Mirabel and Bruno arriving. Alma walked over to them but then had stopped when she saw there was a third party in-between them.
Alma stared at this woman in confusion, shock and...slight anger. She was not of their culture. Or a part of their community. She was an outsider. Bruno and Mirabel knew her rules about people like this and they defied her by bringing this possible threat into Casita?
Mirabel cringed slightly under her Abuela's hardened stare while Bruno had shrunk underneath it. Elsa kept gazing at the old woman in front of her. She could tell she was not happy about her being here. Elsa felt her hands growing cold until she felt somebody else's hand brush against her arm. She turned and saw it was Bruno who'd done it. He gave her an assuring look.
"Let me explain things first." Bruno said.
Elsa nodded then Bruno turned to his mother and exhaled. Elsa couldn't help but wonder if Bruno was usually like this around her, afraid to face her. Bruno had walked up to his mother as she glared at him.
"Brunito, what's the meaning of this?" Alma demanded sharply.
"M'ma. Por favor. Wait. This is Elsa...she is visiting from that kingdom of Arendelle. She was looking for a place to stay."
"And you expect her to stay here?" Alma snapped.
"M'ma. Me and Mirabel offered and it was her choice to come with us. At least meet her before saying anything else."
Alma stared at Bruno angrily but then sighed in defeat and nodded. Bruno then led her over to where Elsa was standing.
"Elsa. This is my M'ma, Alma. M'ma, this is Elsa of Arendelle." Bruno said, looking between the two of them.
Now that this woman Alma was studying her up close, Elsa felt more nervous. She clenched her hands, ignoring the cold from them. Alma didn't say nothing only kept observing her then she moved away, eyeing her skeptically.
"My son says you come from the kingdom of Arendelle. Why did you not choose to stay with your people at some inn?" Alma asked.
"I...I just wanted to know what the village had to offer and Mirabel had told me your family knew a great deal about it and I also really didn't feel comfortable staying within the village with all those people just yet." Elsa replied.
"The village is not to your liking?"
"N-N-No. I mean...It looks beautiful and welcoming but I...I just didn't feel safe..."
"The village is always safe...at least to us but maybe it's not to outsiders like you. Is that what you are trying to say?" Alma asked, voice rising.
Before Elsa could feel her magic surging and about to burst through, the other woman had gone to Alma's side and touched her shoulder then turned to her, giving her a slight scolding glance.
"M'ma. Elsa is trying to be nice but you're not letting her. Maybe we should give her a chance, okay?" The woman said, her voice calm and mutual.
"Elsa. This is one of my hermanas, my sisters. My sister...Julieta." Bruno said, pointing to the woman beside Alma.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elsa. Welcome to our Casita." Julieta greeted, smiling warmly.
Elsa slowly took Julieta's hand and shook it. She could feel the coldness from her hand diminish, draining her tension. She looked at Alma gazing at her suspiciously causing ice to form around her hand again causing her to quickly pull away.
"Please let her stay, Abuela. M'ma's right. Give her a try." Mirabel said.
"Alright. But I do not like this."
Alma gave Elsa another cold stare then turned her back to her and she and Julieta had gone back over to where the pot was cooking. Bruno went to Elsa's side and then to her surprise, his hand gently squeezed hers and she looked up at him.
"Don't worry. She is always like this towards strangers. She'll come around. Wait and see." Bruno said.
For some reason, the feeling of Bruno's hand wrapped around hers, it was as if she did not have any magic for a moment. All the coldness she felt in her body went away and she was left with a warmth instead. Once the shock had worn off, she gave a little smile at Bruno then nodded.
"Thanks." Elsa replied.
"Everyone! Madrigals! It is time to eat!" Alma called out.
Before Elsa knew it, more members of the family had come in one by one. When they saw Elsa, a little boy about Daniela's age came up to her and looked at her then over at Alma.
"Abuela, who is this?" The boy asked.
"This is Elsa. An outsider from the kingdom of Arendelle." Alma replied, stiffly.
The boy nodded then he walked back up to Elsa and looked at her. Elsa chuckled at his curiosity then knelt down to him. Before she could say anything, a jaguar suddenly came up to her and growled at her. But then after sniffing her, the jaguar then rubbed up against her. Elsa carefully reached her hand out and petted the jaguar's head then she looked over at the boy.
"Is this your friend?" Elsa asked.
"Uh-huh! He's my pet. I'm Antonio." The boy said, also petting the jaguar.
"It's nice to meet you, Antonio."
Elsa ruffled Antonio's hair making him giggle. Elsa was then introduced to Mirabel's sisters Isabela and Luisa and then their father and Julieta's husband Augustin then Antonio's siblings Dolores and Camilo then Alma's other daughter Pepa and her husband Felix. Felix seemed kind to her but Pepa, much like Alma, seemed wary of her. Something told Elsa it was going to take awhile for trust to completely build when it came to the Madrigals.
When Elsa went to take a seat, Pepa began to move towards the same spot but then Bruno pulled out the chair for her making her smile while Pepa gave a little scoff and an eye roll and sat somewhere else instead. After Alma gave a little speech along with a family toast, everyone began to eat.
As the Madrigals talked about their day, Elsa and Bruno could not stop staring over at each other. Every time when looked over at the other, they would turn away. And it did not go unnoticed by Alma and Pepa. Mirabel decided to break through the awkward silence.
"Did me and Tio mention Elsa nearly saved little Daniela Hernandez from a runaway cart today?" Mirabel asked.
Elsa gasped and accidentally gripped the table. She saw ice forming then quickly wiped it away before anybody noticed. There was no way she could hide her powers if Mirabel did not keep quiet about them.
"Oh? And how exactly?" Alma asked, looking unamused.
The same sensation Elsa felt that night at the palace began to return. As Mirabel was explaining the situation, her voice was drowned out by the sound of her beating heart. The family couldn't know. Not yet. She just met them and there was no telling what Alma was gonna do.
"Um, Bruno was the one who really saved her actually." Elsa suddenly chimed in.
"I hope your attempted rescue did not endanger her." Alma said, frowning.
Elsa then had flashed back to the moment she had hurt Anna when they were children. And then she suddenly had an image of the cart coming towards Daniela but instead of the shards blocking the cart, they were thrown at Daniela causing her to scream. Ice began to form on Elsa's hands as she had once again gripped the table. Her heartbeat quickening more.
"Elsa? Are you okay?" Antonio's small voice rang out.
Without warning, Elsa had jumped and the magic had shot out of her hands and blasted past the family and across the table. A large patch of ice formed on a wall and caused a large picture to fall to the ground and the glass from the frame to shatter and ice then formed along the portrait.
Alma quickly got out of her seat and went over to the destroyed picture. She looked down at it then she and the family looked at the shocked Elsa. They kept staring at her. Nobody was saying anything. Elsa could not take it anymore and had ran out of the kitchen and away from the Casita.