(Author's Note: Here's another one! Since the first two chapters were "What-If" scenarios (even thought that's NOT the focus of this story, remember), this one is something a little more "canonical". As in, something that could actually happen in canon.

Hope you guys enjoy:)

Chapter Three: Family Protection

Concept: Everything has gone well for the Madrigals since the reconstruction of Casita. Unfortunately, however, not everyone within the Encanto is willing to change their ways.

"Morning Abuelo!" Mirabel gave the portrait of her grandfather the same greeting that she did everyday as she slid down the railings. As she ran and leaped through Casita (the house pushing her up and moving her around here and there), she arrived in the kitchen…and had to spin suddenly to avoid colliding with her grandmother, "Sorry Abuela!"

Said woman gave Mirabel an expression that seemed to be a combination of exasperation and amusement, "Mi nieta, could you please be more careful?" She then leaned forward as she moved a strand of Mirabel's hair out of her face, "I don't want you to get yourself hurt. We already have your papa for that," she whispered with a mischievous grin, causing her granddaughter to laugh herself.

Mirabel was so happy how much her relationship with Abuela had improved over the last few months, as the woman had become kinder and more "in-tuned" with her family since the fall and reconstruction of Casita.

Although her actions came from her own trauma and her intentions were good, Alma wasn't blind to the pain and misery that she's caused her family for years (or even, in some cases, decades). She understood that she couldn't just fix everything with a snap of finger and knew that she'd have to work to truly earn her family's forgiveness.

Things had been a bit awkward in the weeks during Casita's reconstruction, that's for sure. There were tears and yells a plenty but, eventually, things did come around.

Not perfect, of course, but the Madrigals were coming around and were gonna be just fine.

Alma and Mirabel were the last ones to arrive at the table for breakfast. In a turn of events that would have been impossible less than two months ago, the food was NOT cooked by Julieta. To follow through on the attempt to ensure that everyone had more breaks and free time, the family had determined that Julieta was now "banned" from cooking breakfast (since she always had a food stockpile just in case, there wasn't a necessity for new healing food to be cooked first thing in the morning).

Pepa, Bruno, and Felix were the ones who cooked today while Julieta was allowed to sleep in. The family would switch off between who's turn it was to cook, with it being done by no less than two people each day.

Was the food cooked by the other Madrigals as good as Julieta's? Of course it wasn't, but everyone agreed that it was a small price to pay for Julieta to get some much needed rest (and it's not like anyone could cook as good food as Julieta anyway).

"Oh, Mirabel," Mirabel turned to her oldest sister, "Luisa and I were going to go walking through the village later on. Do you wanna come with?" Mirabel couldn't help but find herself stunned by the sheer emotion that she could see in her sisters' eyes.

Like…they were genuinely hoping that she would say yes.

Pushing down emotions that she knew was gonna make her cry, Mirabel met her sisters with a bright smile, "Yeah! That sounds great!"

Unbeknownst to the sisters, they were being watched by their parents. Agustin took ahold of his wife's hand, both of them sharing a teary-eyed smile. Both were aware of how…distant their daughters had become over the last ten years due to a combination of busy schedules and typical sibling bickering. As hard as they tried, however, Agustin and Julieta were never quite able to shorten the distance that had grown between their little girls.

So seeing them just hanging out together, and being thrilled to do so no less, brought so much happiness to their hearts that it felt like they were about to burst open from love.

Today, being one of the Madrigals' day-off, everyone had their own plans for the day. Dolores had a date with Mariano while the two married couples were going to spend some "quality time" together (their children being too scared to ask for the details). Camilo and Bruno had come together to create their own telenova (Camilo's shapeshifting helping to bring the story to life), with Alma and Antonio serving as their "test audience".

Alma had promised that she was going to do better by her family, and she was going to make good on that promise.


Mirabel couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she walked through the town with her hermanas by her side.

Luisa was in the middle of them, with Mirabel to her left and Isabela to her right. Although the sisters had spent their day out thus-far doing nothing but talking and walking, it was already one of the best days in recent memory.

No impossible expectations.

No endless work.

No feelings of inadequacy.

It was like they were children again, jumping back and forth between over a dozen subjects within less than three minutes.

The three sisters found themselves separated once they were in the center of town, each one going off for a moment to examine their own interests (Isabela running off to talk to some of the Encanto's gardeners, Luisa browsing through some new books from the library, and Mirabel going through new supplies for her embroidery).

Mirabel was running her hand across an orange ruana (considering getting a new color for Camilo), just when she suddenly felt someone shove her from behind.

"HEY there, Mirabel!" The youngest Madrigal granddaughter stiffed and had to keep herself from sighing at the sound of the (unfortunately) familiar voice. Steeling her features, Mirabel turned around with a frown.

"Manuel." She saw how the older boy's grin widened and her own frown deepened.

She knew who he was. Of course she did. Manuel Rodriquez, also known as one of the few people in the Encanto that Mirabel could say that she genuinely hated.

After her failed Gift Ceremony over a decade ago, she was never treated the same by anyone (not even her own parents). The only blood Mirabel (born after the Miracle was) who didn't acquire a Gift. Most people pitied her, acting like she wasn't good enough at most things. It started with her being treated like some fragile object when she was a child, and many acting like she just didn't have any skills as she grew older.

Other people, however, went in the opposite direction. They thought of her as "lesser", like there was something wrong with her because she's a Madrigal who didn't get any magic (conveniently forgetting that THEY don't have any magic powers either).

Manuel was one of the worst offenders.

After the formation of the "Madrigal Miracle" over fifty years ago, many people came to respect her Abuela for her leadership skills and (over time) the rest of her family for what the magic allowed them to do. Other people, however, didn't share those feelings. Even though her Abuela was responsible for saving everyone's lives and giving them a home where they would be safe, there were some people who thought that they would be better off in the leadership role (usually some arrogant, pig-headed man who didn't like the idea of a woman in such a place of power).

Mirabel knew that Manuel came from a family that was just like that (his Abuelo being a bitter and rude man). Knowing this, Mirabel had actually tried to make friends with him when they were kids (thinking that she could help get him into a better, more kinder mindset).

After about a month, however, it became clear even to the five year old that everyone called "naïve" that she and Manuel weren't going to be friends.

"What's with that look? Aren't you happy to see your old friend?" Mirabel couldn't help but roll her eyes at his fake kindness, wasting no time in turning around and walking away. "Hey! Where're you going?!"

"Frankly, I don't have the time or energy to deal with you today Manuel. Why don't you go bother someone else?" She was certainly being meaner than she'd usually be (she wouldn't even be like this to Isabela back before they reconciled), but years of bullying has burned away any patience, fear, or politeness that she had left for him.

In her annoyance, however, Mirabel forgot the most important rule she had about dealing with people like Manuel: always stay where she could be seen by everyone.

As Mirabel neared the edge of the fair and turned a corner, she heard Manuel's yell, "HEY!"

Mirabel didn't even slow down, "I told you, I'm not-." She suddenly found her shoulder being grabbed and her entire body being spun around before she was suddenly backhanded to the ground.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to, you little bitch?!" Manuel snarled at the downed girl, who held a hand to her (now red) cheek, "One house rebuilt and ALL of a sudden you think you're hot shit? HA! I see that someone has forgotten just what they are. A useless, pathetic, burden on everyone and everything in this Encanto."

"I…am not…a burden," Mirabel replied, despite the tiny voice in the back of her mind that always whispered that a burden was exactly what she was.

"Oh? Talking back to me? The little burden thinks that she's tough now?" Manuel grabbed Mirabel by her hair, smirking at the pained yell from the glasses-wearing girl. "I guess we need to fix that," at seeing Manuel raising his fist, Mirabel quickly held up her arms to protect her face.

Only…the punch never came. Instead, she felt the sun being blocked out and heard a low growl. Taking her arms from in front of her face, her eyes widened at the sight of Luisa standing there.

And she did not. Look. Happy.

"If you want to keep this arm-," Luisa snarled in a low tone that Mirabel had NEVER heard from her, "-you'll get the other one off of mi hermanita." Manuel immediately let go of Mirabel's shirt, the younger girl falling to the ground.

"H-Hey now," Manuel weakly chuckled, "There's no need to be so angry, Luisa."

That was NOT the right thing to say, seeing as how Luisa's grip on his arm tightened (the fact that his bone wasn't dust being a testament to her incredible control) and her glare only increased.

If her emotions weren't all over the place, Mirabel would have laughed at the pitiful whine of pain that came from Manuel.

"Luisa," everyone present turned at the sudden sound of the eldest of Agustin and Julieta, who stood there calmly examining her nails, "Let him go."

"What? Isa-."

"Hermana," Isabela held up a hand, locking eyes with her sister, "It's okay." Despite the fact that Luisa looked like every last trace of her body wanted to go against her hemana's words, the look in Isabela's eyes made Luisa relax (if only slightly).

Manuel sighed in relief when Luisa released him…only for that sense of relief disappearing as large vines suddenly burst forth from the ground, quickly wrapping around his entire body before he was dragged forth to Isabela. "W-Wait, you've got it all wrong! It's not what you think!"

Said girl was looking at him in the eye, giving him a sweet smile that showed off her teeth (the only part of her that really remained "perfect" since the day Casita fell). Manuel was DEFINITELY more afraid of Isabela in that moment than he was of Luisa. Whereas Luisa had a glare that said "Do what I say, or I'll pound you into dust", Isabela's smile gave a sense of "If you say the wrong thing, I will make you suffer endlessly and do so with a smile on my face".

Isabela's head tilted to the side, "Really? "Got it all wrong", do I? "Not what I think", that's the truth of what's happening?"

"Y-Yeah! Definitely!" He turned around to Mirabel, who was currently wrapped in a protective hold by Luisa, "Mirabel! Tell them-." A vine suddenly shot out and forced Manuel to face Isabela, who's sweet smile had been replaced with a glare.

"Why are you looking at her? I'm the one talking to you. Don't you know it's rude to not look at someone when they're talking to you?"

"I-I-."

"Cut the crap. There's absolutely nothing that you can say that will get you out of this. I saw what you did to my sister, and heard what you said to her. The only reason Luisa got to you before I did was because I was stunned that anyone would have the nerve to behave that way to Mirabel. Especially seeing as how she's the reason that our family is still able to help ungrateful people like you." The fear in Manuel's eyes increased as the vines around him tightened, "I'm going to say this only once, so make sure that you listen VERY carefully: if you EVER talk to or even come NEAR Mirabel again, I promise you that I will make the rest of your life a living hell. I think I'll leave it up to you as to what exactly that'll entail," she patted Manuel on the cheek with another sweet smile, "Do you and I understand each other?" Manuel nodded fearfully, "Good. Now-," Manuel's body was suddenly spun around and he was pushed to his knees as the vines around his mouth lifted off, "-here is where you'll say the last words you're going to say to Mirabel. Apologize."

"I-I'm sorry Mirabel!" Manuel cried out, terrified of what Isabela would do if he lingered, "I really am! W-What I did was wrong! I-I…i-it's my family! Especially my Abuelo! He's the one who really has a thing against your family! It's really his fault! You know?"

"Oh dios mio," Isabela rolled her eyes, "You could not be more pathetic if you tried." She suddenly released Manuel from his "imprisonment", "Just get out of my sight, and remember what we talked about today." Manuel wasted NO time in bolting away as quickly as his legs could carry him, "Pedazo de mierda," Mirabel could hear Isabela mutter under her breath.

"I…appreciate what you both did, but you didn't have to."

"Yes we did," both Isabela and Luisa (who still hadn't let go of her) replied at the same time.

"It's fine. Manuel is just-."

"Don't say anything to downplay what he did," Luisa snapped, though her expression immediately softened when she saw Mirabel flinch at her harsh tone. She gently took her hermanita by her face and made them lock eyes, "It's NOT fine, Mirabel. What he did was NOT okay, and you should have told us about this sooner."

"It's…he would only bother me once in a while, and I've gotten good at avoiding him. And you guys were always busy, so I didn't think it was worth bothering you." Just before Luisa could respond to any of that, however…

"That's not true, Mirabel. At least, not completely," Isabela spoke up, her sisters' gazes shooting towards her, "You didn't go to Luisa because she was busy," Isabela locked eyes with Mirabel, who just now realized the overwhelming…sadness in her eldest sister's eyes, "But you didn't come to me because you didn't think that I would do anything to fix it, didn't you?"

Mirabel's eyes widened to the size of their mama's dinner plates, "What?! N-No! That's not-."

"True?" Isabela asked, her voice devoid of almost all emotion, "Can you really look me in the eyes and say that, hermanita?" Mirabel tried to do just that…but it was as if the words refused to leave her throat. Seeing Mirabel look away in shame, Isabela sighed and held a hand to her face, "I'm a horrible sister."

The heads of both Mirabel and Luisa shot towards their sister, their eyes widened. "Isa, no you're not," Mirabel argued.

"Yes, I am. I'm the oldest. It was supposed to be my job to watch over you two," Isabela's face dropped and her arms wrapped around herself (which Mirabel and Luisa would later find out that the reason she did that was to try and keep herself from trembling as the truth came out), "I was really excited when you two were born, you know. Mama and Papa had to tell me more about the day Luisa was born, since we're so close in age…but, I was so excited to be a big sister. I remember that on the day Mirabel was born, Mama had let me hold her and Luisa came charging in to get a closer look. As I held you both near me, I made a promise to myself that I was going to be the best hermana in the world. That I was always going to protect you two and be someone that you can depend on no matter what," when Isabela turned to face her sisters, their hearts broke when they saw the tears coming down her face, "I broke that promise to you both. I'm a horrible sister and I'm sorry. I'm SO, so sorry."

After a moment, Mirabel moved forward to grab her sister's hand, "Isa…I know you feel guilty for the past, but so do I and I know that Luisa does too. I know that we all wish that we were better to each other before. But that can't be what we focus on," Mirabel took ahold of Isabela's hands before gently wiping away her sister's tears (the same way that Isabela herself used to a lot when Mirabel was a child…before her Gift Ceremony and their relationship took a sour turn), "If all we do is focus on the mistakes of the past, how can we be better for one another now?"

Isabela let out a small, teary-eyed chuckle, "Since when did you become so wise?" Mirabel gave a grin so bright that it nearly outdid the sun in intensity. Isabela pulled her hermanita into a tight hug, Mirabel flinching for a moment before wrapping her arms around Isabela's body. "Hey," looking up at her sister, Mirabel saw Isabela looking towards Luisa (who had a teary smile on her face at her hermanas), "Last time I checked, there were three of us." Isabela then (after maneuvering Mirabel a bit to her side) held out an arm to Luisa, with Mirabel quickly doing the same.

The tallest of Agustin and Julieta wasted NO time in wrapping her massive arms around her sisters, picking them both up off the ground. Isabela and Mirabel each threw an arm around Luisa's neck, and all three of them squeezed each as hard as they could (with the exclusion of Luisa, for obvious reasons).

After they (eventually) let each other go, Luisa and Isabela absolutely refused to let Mirabel out of their sight or even out of their grip for the rest of their "outting".

And, although Mirabel still thought that the two were being overprotective, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy the feeling of being so…cared for by her sisters.


As much as Mirabel would have loved to put the whole "incident" behind her, her hermanas weren't so willing.

The other Madrigals were nearly the perfect showing of peace and joy when the three walked in…until Isabela and Luisa told them of what happened with Manuel.

Mirabel was embarrassed, holding her face in her hands as her family roared and shrieked around her (Isabela and Luisa each having their arms around her).

Agustin was muttering about getting his axe and showing people what happens when they bullied his "Miraboo". Julieta was completely silent, but Mirabel would be lying if she said that she wasn't feeling intimidated by the dark look in her mother's eyes and how she kept running her fingers along the knife in her hands.

Pepa stood a few feet from the dining room table (where everyone else was sitting), pacing back and forth as a thundercloud roared above her head. Felix didn't try to soothe his wife like he usually would and kept cracking his knuckles (likely wishing that he had a face to punch).

Bruno was silent as he petted one of his rats, but his eyes were glowing green as he frowned (1).

For once, Dolores didn't cover her ears from the noise around her (something that likely hurt her a great deal). She simply thumped her finger on the table furiously with shut eyes (making Mirabel wonder if she was listening for information to use against Manuel).

Camilo, similar to his mother, was pacing a few feet away from everyone else. He was mostly muttering to himself but a few shifts had slipped through (Mirabel, Manuel, Luisa, Isabela, etc.).

Antonio had been further away from his family (playing with his animal friends) when the three sisters had returned, so he originally hadn't understood why his family was so angry. When Camilo explained that someone had been mean to and hurt Mirabel (his favorite prima and the person who had raised him just as much as his own parents), however, Antonio was furious. The frown on his face would have been considered adorable…had he not been sitting on top of a snarling jaguar (who had been just as angry as Antonio himself).

After a certain point, Abuela (who had been silent with a face of stone this whole time) stood up and silenced her family. She told them that she was going to the house of the Rodriguez family, and was going to have a LONG talk with Manuel and his Abuelo. That man had been a thorn in her side for decades, and she thought that the two of them had reached an…"understanding" long ago (the man at least becoming less of a problem as the years went by). Before Casita's collapse, Alma would have tried to avoid direct confrontation with the Rodriguez family. Or, failing that, she would have at least tried to handle the situation very carefully.

Now however? Now she was out for blood. An attack on one Madrigal was an attack on ALL of them, and she was going to ensure that it's understood that she was NOT going to tolerate ANY attacks on her family.

The grandchildren were instructed to remain at Casita while the triplets and the husbands followed Alma to the Rodriguez house. Mirabel's sisters and cousins didn't like having to stay behind, but soon felt comfortable enough when they saw how livid the adults were as they left. The grandchildren had all retreated to Antonio's room afterwards, none of them being willing to let Mirabel out of her sight anytime soon (Antonio sitting Mirabel down and taking seat in her lap, wrapping her arms around him and refusing to let her go anywhere).

Between the animals in Antonio's room, the plants Isabela grew, and the shifting Camilo would do, everyone was laughing within minutes. Sometime after, the grandchildren's talks/games were interrupted by Dolores' loud squeak.

"What's wrong, prima?" Luisa asked, looking concerned by how large Dolores' eyes had grown. All of their concern just about faded away when they saw the large smile grow on Dolores' face.

"And what's got you smiling like that?" Camilo asked his sister with a raised eyebrow.

"I've been keeping an ear out for when the adults arrived at the Rodriguez house."

"Oh boy," Isabela playfully rolled her eyes, "Tia Pepa is cursing up a storm, isn't she?"

"Yes to the cursing, but it's not her or Papa."

Camilo's eyes brightened and he formed a smile that seemed to cover his entire face, "No way, Tia Julieta is the one doing it?!"

"None of you are thinking high enough on the family tree."

Silence.

Isabela was the first to recover, "You're…lying. You have to be."

Dolores' smile only grew, "Not. One. Bit. I couldn't hear everything, but Manuel's Abuelo said some VERY offensive things about the family-," her primas and hermanos noticed how she tensed up and how her voice grew sharper at those words, "-and Abuela just snapped. All I'll tell you is this: Mama's cursing isn't a personality trait, it's definitely genetic."


(Later That Night)

Mirabel was sitting at her desk, working on her new embroidery project.

After the magic came back to Casita and her family, Mirabel discovered (to her absolute shock and joy) that she had been given a room for herself. The design was simple and it was nowhere near as big or as "fancy" as many of her family's (with the exclusion of Abuela, who's own room had been simple in design and size for decades), but none of that mattered to Mirabel.

This wasn't the nursery. It was her OWN room, and that was more than enough for her.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Looking up to her door, Mirabel set down her supplies as she stood up. Upon opening the door, she saw her hermanas standing outside.

"Hola strangers," Mirabel teased, getting her sisters to smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We just wanted to see if you were still awake," Isabela replied, "Mind if we…come in?"

It took all of Mirabel's willpower and self-control to keep herself from laughing at the…hopeful tone in Isabela's voice. Not laughing AT her sister, but at the idea of seeing the usually strong-willed and confident Isabela being nervous towards her of all people.

"Sure," Mirabel laughed, taking a step to the side for the two to step inside.

"What are you still doing up?" Luisa asked.

"Just working on a project for some of the kids in town. They were climbing over my skirt last week and asked me to make them things. And…well, I just couldn't say no to those faces," Isabela and Luisa chuckled at their hermanita's response. With the time Mirabel spent with both Antonio and the village children, she always had a weakness to the little ones. "What about you guys?"

"Making plans for our mission," Isabela replied with a teasing smirk, getting Luisa to chuckle and Mirabel to roll her eyes.

After the adults had returned to Casita (Felix, Pepa, and even Bruno still snickering while Agustin and Julieta trying to cover their own smiles), the grandchildren had all but rushed towards the front door. As it turns out, Dolores was not exaggerating in the slightest when she said that Abuela had cursed up a storm to the Rodriguez patriarch (the kids would later hear from Bruno that he believes it was due to a combination of multiple factors, including her no longer desiring to behave "perfectly" in front of villagers, her protective instincts flaring up at the knowledge of someone hurting her mariposa for years without her knowledge, and her patience with that old man having all but evaporated over the decades).

The entire Rodriguez family (including the patriarch) had apparently been rendered terrified by Alma's furious yelling, a fact that none of the grandchildren found themselves surprised by. Even better, Alma had gotten Manuel to admit that there were others in the Encanto who had bullied Mirabel in the past (either helping Manuel or of their own accord).

On the one hand, the other grandchildren were NOT happy to find out that there were even MORE people who had been bullying Mirabel throughout the years. On the other hand, however, they were happy to find out that Abuela had acquired the names of the "accused". To everyone's shock and joy, Abuela said that they could do with the list as they wanted. Her only requirement was that they not kill anyone.

(The smirk on Abuela's face as everyone planned with each other led Mirabel to believe that this transfer of information was her own way of getting revenge against those who've been bullying her youngest nieta).

"You guys really don't have to go through so trouble, you know," Mirabel commented as she continued working on her project.

"It's not trouble," Luisa immediately replied as she moved to look over Mirabel's shoulder at her project.

"And even if it were any trouble, we'd still have no issue with doing it," Isabela spoke as she walked to Mirabel's other side and took a seat on her hermanita's desk, "You should have seen Camilo and Dolores planning, and little Antonio was more than eager to help."

Mirabel sighed dramatically placing the back of her hand against her forehead, "Only two months of Antonio being away from me and already you're all starting to corrupt him. I knew I should have stopped time when he was four and kept him with me." Both of Mirabel's hermanas laughed at her dramatics, with Isabela in particular taking a moment to ruffle her hair.

Just then, however, Isabela's smile dropped, "Are you okay, Mirabel?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm great," the youngest sister's smile (which didn't feel all that genuine to begin with) quickly crumbled at her eldest hermana's raised eyebrow, "I mean…I don't know," she sighed, "Today has certainly not been one that I'd have prepared for."

"But it's one that's a long time coming," Isabela took ahold of Mirabel's hand, "I still only wish that we could have done something earlier."

"I told you, it's okay. Besides, you guys had your own problems. You didn't need mine added to them."

"That's the problem our family needs to fix," Luisa spoke up, "We're all so in our own heads and problems that we don't stop to actually take a look at the world around us."

"Or, we don't even entertain the idea that someone besides us has any problems at all," Isabela said with a frown.

"Even though I still think this "revenge thing" you're all planning is unneeded, I do appreciate the thought behind it."

"Like I said hermana, it's a long time coming," Isabela ran her hand through Mirabel's hair before pulling her into a one-armed hug and pressing a kiss against her temple, "You were right when you said that we need to focus on being better for one another, and this is how we're gonna start. Our family has always focused on helping the community and our own frustrations, but we need to put back effort into one another. And the villagers need to understand that the Madrigals are serious about taking care and protecting one another. If they have a problem with that, they're MORE than welcome to bring their complaints to any of us." Mirabel couldn't help but roll her eyes, knowing the diabolical smirk on her sister's face without even having to look (and Luisa's chuckle only confirmed her suspicions).

"And we're going to start by making this clear to Manuel's little minions," the steel in Luisa's tone and frustration in her features was contrasted by her soft grip on Mirabel's free hand.

All of the arguments on Mirabel's tongue died as she basked in the love and comfort of her hermanas. This has been the kind of affection she hasn't had with either of them in years, and Mirabel couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks even if she wanted to. She felt both of her sisters move to wrap their arms around her and she just leaned into their grasp.

"Sorry," she mumbled into Luisa's arm.

"Don't be," her hermana quickly replied, taking her other arm to run her fingers through Mirabel's hair, "As long as those aren't tears of pain or sadness, I don't mind."

"Alright," Isabela suddenly stood up, "Follow me."

"For what?" Mirabel asked as she and Luisa turned to look at their eldest hermana.

"Oldest Sister Initiative. We're all going to have a sleepover in my room. Come on, up we go!"

Luisa chuckled, "And do we get a choice in this decision?"

"You can make a choice…but there's only one choice that I'll acknowledge. Now, come on! I'll drag you both out with my vines if I have to." Isabela walked out of the room, fully expecting her hermanas to follow her.

Which, of course, they did.

"That sister of ours sure is something, isn't she?" Luisa whispered into Mirabel's ear, who looked at her with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

"And you think this is news to me?" The two shared a laugh, before quickly racing to follow Isabela.

The next morning, Agustin was going to wake up his daughters. Starting with his eldest, he was met with a beautiful sight when he opened Isabela's room.

Julieta found herself a tad annoyed when her husband dragged her across Casita, but that all disappeared when she saw the same sight that he did.

All of their daughters were asleep on Isabela's bed, with their eldest in the middle. Isabela had her arms wrapped around her hermanas' shoulders, Mirabel was hugging her eldest's torso with one arm while holding onto Luisa's hand with the other, and Luisa had her free limb underneath both of her hermanas.

With tears in their eyes and smiles so big they started to hurt, Julieta and Agustin decided to let their daughters sleep a little longer and bring them some food in a little while.

Okay, and MAYBE they took a picture or two of them sleeping…but that's their business (at least until their girls woke up).

(Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd scene!

(1): I have a headcanon that Bruno has learned how to make his eyes glow green without having a vision throughout the years. It's why some (like Camilo) think that his eyes always glow green.

Hope this one was good. I don't believe that Mirabel was bullied in as…intense of a manner that other writers seem to think, but I do think that there are occasions of it. Kids can be cruel and pick on others for the stupidest of things. When I was in elementary school, there was a kid who would make fun on me just because I shared the same first name as a celebrity (one that I guess he didn't like).

No really, that's it. Although I talked to a teacher, who talked to him, and the two of us actually became decent friends after that. So…don't hesitate to ask for help! But yeah, Manuel (and the other bullies) only got away with their bullying because they only did it once in a blue moon while taking advantage of Mirabel's nature to downplay her own problems and how busy the other Madrigals were.

I was GOING to focus more on all six grandchildren, but I thought it'd be better to try and focus more on the three sisters instead. I'll probably do something with the six of them later on down the line.

Maybe I'll do a sequel chapter about Mirabel's family getting revenge on her bullies for her. Would anyone be interested in that?

Review, Favorite, Follow, and I'll see you guys next time:)