(Author's Note: Hello there my readers, and welcome to another installment of "Journeys into the Multiverse".
Hope you guys enjoy:)
Chapter Six: Curse of the Werewolf
Concept: With her emotions running high during her primo's ceremony, Mirabel needed to leave Casita and have some time for herself. When she chose to leave that night, however, she didn't realize just how dangerous that decision was.
"La Familia Madrigal!" Everything was perfect for the Madrigal family. The ceremony of Antonio (their youngest member) was an absolute success, as he acquired his Gift as everyone hoped. Nothing could make this night better.
Well, ONE thing could be...at least, in the case of one Mirabel Madrigal.
You see, unlike her mother, aunt, uncle, sisters, and cousins, Mirabel didn't acquire a Gift when she turned five…and her life was forever changed (and not in a good way).
Now, you might think that Mirabel would be upset that she didn't get her magic like so much of her family. But that's not true (not really, at least). Mirabel's problem isn't the fact that she doesn't have any powers but, rather, the fact that almost everyone acted like she was useless because she was born "normal".
She can't move buildings, heal wounds, or wear any face she pleases. She's long since accepted the fact that she'll never be capable of the same feats that her family is. She knows that and she truly doesn't mind.
But…why did her lack of magic make her useless? She knew what people thought. Her papa and Tio Felix didn't have magic, but that's because they married into the family. They weren't supposed to have magic in the first place. And as for Abuela…she was the head of the Madrigals, the leader of the Encanto, and the holder of the "Miracle" itself. Despite the fact that she was a woman in her seventies with no magical abilities to speak of, she was practically the most powerful person in the Encanto itself.
But Mirabel was a blood Madrigal, one who was born after the "Miracle" came into being. She was SUPPOSED to get a Gift…but didn't. No one understand why, and this led to them drawing their own conclusions…with virtually NONE of them being positive by any stretch of the word. The usual ones brings that she was either "cursed" (whatever that means) or wasn't "worthy enough" to get a Gift.
The one that both hurt and angered her the most being that she was a "bastard" from her father's affair, with her mother choosing to raise her out of the kindness of her heart. Few people were brave enough (or, rather, stupid enough) to say something like that to a Madrigal's face…but Mirabel knew that some people still said in when they thought the family couldn't hear them (whether because they actually believe it or just wanted to be cruel, Mirabel truly didn't know).
Mirabel made her way out of Antonio's newly-formed room, pushing her way past any and every guest in her way (for once, not caring about "manners"). She just…she couldn't be in here right now.
Now, don't take her feelings the wrong way. She's not "jealous" or "angry" at Antonio getting a Gift (as she knew so many people thought, including some of her own family). She understood what it meant to be the "Gift less" Madrigal, as well as the feelings of depression and worthlessness that followed. And she would NEVER wish something like that on her Tonito, a boy so full of sunshine and happiness he could make any day better. She's THRILLED that her little primo was given a Gift…but was also upset, because today confirmed the very thing she's been the most afraid of for the last ten years: that there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with the magic.
That the problem was her.
Mirabel felt the floor tiles raise underneath her as she reached the front door, trying to push her back. She knelt down, placing her hand on the floor, "Don't worry, Casita. I just…need some air and time to myself. I'm just going to take a walk. I'll be back…I promise." Casita gently lifted her tiles underneath Mirabel's hand, making her feelings on the matter clear to the teen.
She didn't LIKE it…but she wasn't going to stop Mirabel.
With a nod and a small smile, Mirabel opened the front door and walked into the night.
Now, you might think that it'd be difficult (if not all but impossible) to enjoy a walk at night while everyone else in the valley was partying in her home.
But (to Mirabel's surprise), she was actually enjoying her walk more than she thought she would. The Encanto was a VERY lively place, with peace and quiet being all but impossible to achieve. Mirabel's not even one who typically ENJOYS the kind of quiet like her prima would, but for tonight? It's honestly quite relaxing.
Mirabel stopped walking before taking in a DEEP breath, enjoying the scents in the air and the way that the wind gently moved across her body. Despite her rather…intense feelings that has been going on today (and even before that, if she's being honest), Mirabel couldn't help but feel a sense of peace that she hadn't felt for a long time.
Even with this feeling, however, Mirabel couldn't stop the tears that slipped down her cheeks. "Why?" She whispered into the wind, looking back to Casita in the distance. Mirabel's arms moved up to hug herself (in a futile attempt to keep herself from trembling), "Just tell me why…why didn't I get a Gift? Why aren't I good enough to stand beside my family? Just tell me…what's wrong with me?"
She wasn't expecting an answer, no matter how much she'd love one.
Just then, she heard…something (possibly because of the quiet). Mirabel wiped her eyes as she look around, confused at hearing what almost sounded like…growling?
"Great, now I'm hearing things," Mirabel muttered, running a hand through her hair. No wild animals just wander this far into the village. Besides, Mirabel was positive that just about every (large) animal left around had already gone to Antonio anyway.
Mirabel still wasn't sure how they knew to show up at the EXACT moment Antonio got his Gift.
Just then, as her eyes moved across the surrounding area…she saw something. Mirabel's eyes looked towards a nearby alleyway, a confused frown on her face. She couldn't exactly describe it, but she just felt…cold. And scared. At that moment…she saw eyes. A pair of burning yellow eyes that almost seemed to glow in the darkness. Eyes that stared out into the night.
No, that's not it…eyes that stared directly into her own.
Mirabel couldn't move or speak, or even do anything with those eyes on her. If she felt slight fear before, she now felt TERRIFIED. It was as if any and all warmth in the area had disappeared in an instant, leaving only a cold and empty void in its place.
"Run," a snarling, raspy voice suddenly rang out throughout the night. Whether due to her fear or the sudden noise, whether this was real or some sort of "hallucination"…Mirabel did exactly what she was told.
The youngest Madrigal granddaughter bolted away from the alley, her legs moving as quickly as they could. She didn't know what she had just been looking at or if it was even real, but it was as if there was a voice in her brain screaming out "DANGER!".
And she FULLY intended on listening.
As she ran, she could hear the sound of thumping and crashing behind her. Against her better judgement, Mirabel took a look behind her…and immediately wished that she hadn't. She could see someone (or something) pursuing her. It looked vaguely humanoid, but it was running on all fours and leaping across rooftops in a way that (logically) no human should be capable of. In that moment, Mirabel turned back around and sprinted as quickly as possible, fear coursing through every last trace of her being. She had absolutely no idea what she was running from, or what that…thing would do if it caught her.
But she had absolutely NO desire to find out. All she knew was that she needed to get back to Casita as soon as possible. Whatever was happening, things would be alright if she can get back to her family. She couldn't protect herself from…whatever that was, but she knew that someone like Luisa could. Or her Tia Pepa's lightning or even Isabela's vines could help.
"DOLORES!" Mirabel screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping (all but praying) that her prima could hear her over the party, "DOLORES!" Dolores had to hear her. She just had to.
Hope flared in her heart as Casita came into view. She was almost there! She was going to make it! She just needed to make it a little further…
And than, because the universe seems to view her as an amazing chew-toy, that was the moment that everything went wrong.
The "creature" that was chasing Mirabel had leapt through the air, colliding directly with the young girl before rolling and tossing her away. Mirabel let out a yell of pain as she went sprawling across the ground (numerous cuts forming on her arms and cheek). When she picked her head up, she saw the "creature" (still cloaked in shadow, except for those horrible eyes) pick itself up onto two legs. As Mirabel desperately crawled back, trying to create distance…that's when it struck.
The creature sprung forward, quicker than Mirabel could possibly react, lunging at the frightened fifteen year old…before sinking its teeth into the flesh of her shoulder. Mirabel didn't even have time to scream before her entire body was thrashed around before being tossed closer towards Casita.
This time, Mirabel did let a scream slip through her lips as her bloody shoulder collided with the ground first. It was as if every nerve in her body was suddenly set on fire, the pain causing her entire being to freeze in its agony. She held a hand to her bleeding shoulder as she struggled to pick herself up.
As much as her body screamed at her to stop (feeling possibly the worst pain it ever had), she was genuinely afraid as to what would happen if she did.
Mirabel crawled backwards from the "creature", slipping across the ground with nearly every move she made. The "creature" took a step forward (letting Mirabel see the massive claws that it had), before taking a second one…then a third and a fourth (almost as if it was intentionally moving at a slow pace).
Just then, however…it stopped.
Past her fear, Mirabel was left confused by the current events. This "creature" clearly wished her harm (the wound in her shoulder proved that), so…why didn't it move in when it had the chance?
"Hehehehehe," the "creature" began chuckling, a raspy noise that sounded like it came from Satan himself. It then slowly licked the blood dripping from its fangs, sending shivers down Mirabel's spine, "Don't worry…I'm not going to KILL you. No. I have…something else in mind for you," the creature (revealing themselves to be male) chuckled as he turned around. Just then, however…he turned his head to lock eyes with the Madrigal, "See you around, "Lost Pup"." And then, without any further words, the "creature" sped off away from Casita and into the darkness.
Mirabel was left there, hurt and alone, in the middle of the night. She just laid their for a few moments, her mind being unable to fully comprehend the last few minutes of her life. The sudden throbbing of her shoulder brought Mirabel back into the present, reminding her of the current problem.
"Gotta…g-gotta get home," Mirabel slowly stood up, wincing as she did so. When she tried to run, however, it felt as if the gravity around her had suddenly increased tenfold. She immediately fell into a walk, the energy leaking out of her with each step. Mirabel's eyes began to droop as her vision became blurry and her breathing got heavier. That was when her "internal compass" fell out of whack, the teenager nearly tripping over her own feet. Mirabel shook her head out, even slapping her cheek to try and "right herself".
Eventually, however, her body decided that it simply couldn't go on. Mere feet away from Casita's doors, Mirabel collapsed to the ground (the girl quickly losing consciousness).
Casita's tiles were flipping around like crazy as the furniture rattled violently. The magical house didn't feel emotions in the EXACT same manner that humans did, but she was DEFINITELY freaking out right now.
Mirabel, her pequeña mariposa, was unconscious in front of the door, bruises all over her body and a nasty wound on her shoulder. To Casita's fear and frustration, Mirabel was JUST far enough to be out of her reach. She was helpless to protect Mirabel from that beast, and now she was helpless to bring her inside for safety.
The worst part of this all was that every single person there was inside of Antonio's new room, and Casita had no influence in the magic rooms. The best she could do was slam down the tiles in-front of the door, but everyone was too focused on the party to hear anything. If everyone was too distracted, than who knows what could happen to-.
Wait a minute. That's wrong. Even though it was Antonio's ceremony, there was one person who wasn't in attendance. One person who was close by, could help, and, most importantly, could be reached by Casita herself (1).
Bruno Madrigal let out a rather…"unmanly" shriek as he was (quite literally) flung from his home from within Casita's walls.
"C-Casita! What are you doing?!" He couldn't be out here. Someone was going to see him! When Bruno tried to crawl back into the large hole behind the painting, Casita's tiles suddenly moved underneath his feet. Another shriek fell from Bruno's lips as he went flying across the second floor (his fear shooting to an all-time high when he passed Antonio's door with its countless inhabitants), before screaming when he was thrown down the stairs which had quickly turned into a slide.
"Casita! This isn't funny!" Bruno "berated" the magical house, his frustration growing higher than it had in a long time. When he tried to run back to his hole, the stairs had suddenly rolled up (leaving the man trapped on the first floor). "CASITA!" The tiles began flipping drastically all around Bruno, the action causing the (retired) seer to frown in concern. Although he wasn't as good at understanding Casita as well as someone like Mirabel, a decade in the walls meant that Bruno held a better understanding than most. "Casita…what's wrong?" Casita suddenly slid the tiles underneath Bruno's feet, sliding him to the front door. Before Bruno could ask another question, the doors suddenly opened…and the poor man's heart practically stopped.
Mirabel, his youngest sobrina and one of the sweetest members of the family (only really rivaled by the birthday boy himself), was lying on the floor…seemingly unconscious.
"MIRABEL!" Any sense of caution or fear of being found out was thrown out the window as Bruno raced to Mirabel's side. He turned her over on her back, quickly examining her body for injuries.
(Curiously, even though her clothes were torn in multiple places, there wasn't a single cut or bruise to be found)
Despite his confusion, Bruno felt a sense of relief at his sobrina's uninjured form. He placed two fingers to her neck and felt grateful when he felt her pulse. Not seeing any other option, Bruno scooped Mirabel up in his arms. Mirabel being a growing teenager combined with Bruno being a frail and skinny fifty year old man meant that picking her up was a bit of a task, but, eventually, he was able to do it.
Because Bruno was so concerned about Mirabel as he carried her to her room (intending to pick up some supplies after he set her down), he was left ignorant to the sickly purple glow on the girl's shoulder.
A glow in the shape of a bite mark.
(Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd scene!
(1): Okay, full transparency? I don't know for certain if Casita actually could "affect" the areas that Bruno hung out in. Since it IS a part of the house (and isn't magic), I think that Casita would have influence. At the very least, that's going to be the route I take with this chapter in particular.
-Hope this turned out well. Like I mentioned last chapter, some of these ideas are written with intentions for continuations. Basically, think of them like "mini-stories" within this larger story. This chapter is one example, as there will probably be at least two more chapters in this particular timeline (maybe three, depending on how long the chapters are).
Constructive criticism ONLY…no flames please.
Review, Favorite, Follow, and I'll see you guys next time:)
