Chapter Text
He pushed you with his shoulder in line at the next stall in the market. He tripped you into a mud puddle and got you clothes soiled on the road. He damn near got you run over with a horse. He tormented you at every chance he got, and you never knew why. Not that you needed to to hate him. Just the sight of him made you furious. Your proudest moment was when you pushed him into the river. The look on his face filled you with smug pride.
Your best friend Natalia was all with you when it came to disliking that Madrigal. You two often thought up petty ways to bully him together, and although that seemed mean, he was doing it to you first. You're lucky you haven't broken your spine yet with all the shoving he does to you. You didn't have many other friends aside from her, just a few classmates and kids you used to play with when you were 5. But none of them had a relationship like you and Natalia did. You both were welcome in each other's houses at any time of day or night, and often had sleepovers where you talked about the latest gossip. Tonight you both were sleeping at your place, and Natalia had a sour look on her face as she shared what she overheard from a couple girls at school.
"They were giggling like crazy, and do you know who they were talking about?" Not giving you time to answer, she continued her story.
"Shapeshifter Madrigal. They must have been out of their heads, because they were saying that he was 'Sooooo nice!' and 'Soooooo kind!' just because he 'entertains' the town. I'm not sure what their stupid miracle was thinking when it gave him that gift."
You replied with a scoff and said "If only they saw how he treated me, maybe they wouldn't be so head over heels for him. It sounds like these girls have a crush on the meanest Madrigal ever."
You didn't dislike the Madrigals. It was actually quite the opposite. You were particularly close with Dolores, albeit the fact that she was seven years older than you, because of your shared knack for finding gossip around the town. Natalia was sort of neutral to them, not really talking about or interacting with them. You never wondered why, you don't question the ways of childhood besties, you just roll with it.
"Hey, we better get to sleep if we want to finish our chores before the party tomorrow." You said. Tomorrow was the day of the youngest Madrigal, Antonio's ceremony. As much as you hated Camilo, you loved Antonio too much to not come. He was the sweetest thing and you got to play with him sometimes when you hung out with Dolores.
You turned the light off as you both headed to your areas of the room and laid down.
"Good night Natalia."
"Night y/n."
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You were out and about first thing in the morning. You were heading home from the market and you watched as Luisa moved an entire bridge and Mirabel sang about her family to a group of kids.
"My primo Camilo won't stop until he makes you smile today!" If only she knew. He made you do anything but smile.
You set your basket down on the table and began to stock up your pantry when your mother came downstairs.
"Hola querida."
"Hola mamá. What do I need to do today?"
"Nothing much. Enjoy yourself today, and be sure to come back and change before Antonio's ceremony."
"Okay mamá. Love you." You kissed her on the cheek and ran out the door to look for Natalia.
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"Up top, Alejandra!" You said as you high-fived Natalia's sister.
"What about us?!"
You put your hand back up for her friends Juancho and Cecilia as they jumped up to hit it.
You found Natalia by the river with a boy. She was known as a village beauty at only fifteen, with her thick black hair and dark complexion. She often wore this specific green skirt, which seemed to make her look even better to the townsfolk. She was proud of her beauty, subtly flaunting it everywhere she went. It was no surprise that many people fell for her, yet she's never dated anyone before. You would see her hanging out with new people every week though, often sitting by the river with them. You decided to leave them alone and headed on around the town.
You were strolling with no exact destination, just walking wherever your feet would take you. As you stopped to say hello to your mami's friend and her baby, you noticed something strange. There were two of her? You walked on, realizing it was probably shapeshifter boy and that she was probably resting. She deserved it, You saw how hard it was taking care of her baby. You still hated that Madrigal though, but at least Camila could get some well-earned sleep.
You passed by La Casa Madrigal.
"Dolores, need any help with setting up?"
"I think we've got it covered, y/n. Thanks for offering."
With nothing to do, You went home to get your sketchbook and pick out your outfit for Antonio's party.
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You were sitting on the sidewalk, sketching a picture of Pepa, using the Madrigal family painting on the wall as reference. It wasn't much to go off of, but You'd seen her countless times and the painting captured her facial features well enough. You signed and dated it, and was about to move on to her sister Julieta when a small rock came flying at you before you could turn the page.
"Hey! What was that for?"
Camilo shrugged. You chucked the rock back at him, but his speed was much greater than your reaction time and the rock hit the mural on the wall behind him. You looked down to see my Pepa drawing slightly torn around her neck area. There were little bits of dry soil spewed across the page and your lap. You stood up and brushed the dirt off the paper. The sun was beginning to set as You headed home to change.
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Camilo and Luisa were at the door, greeting guests and putting away their horses and donkeys. Camilo was shifting into everyone to greet them, and you will admit Cecilia's smile was the cutest when he high-fived her in mid-air. You reached the door with your Mamá and he shook her hand, not even bothering to look at you. You walked inside and marvelled at the stunning interior of the Madrigal house. You saw people hanging their hats on its tiles which it graciously stuck out for them. Isabela was charming everyone as usual with her grace and flowers. You watched for a while and a band of pink and purple flowers blossomed around your head. You smiled at her as you walked off to look for your friends.
Standing next to your mamá while watching Antonio walk down the hall was a thrilling feeling. You found it very sweet how Mirabel agreed to walk with him, and as he reached the glowing door and touched its doorknob, an imperceptible image started forming until you saw his figure, surrounded with animals. As several animals, some not even from this region of Colombia, ran between your legs or flew way above your head, you felt immense joy, not just because Antonio finally got his gift, but also at the joy of everyone else in the room. You had to admit that Camilo was at least a good brother to Antonio (though not very good to you) and expressed great pride for his little hermano, giving enthusiastic cheers for him.
As you walked inside the newly formed room with the crowd, you were just as amazed as everyone else. You heard little Alejandra exclaim "It's bigger on the inside?!" and you chuckled lightly to yourself. You watched as Antonio played around with his animals, riding atop a speeding jaguar and swinging across a low-hanging snake. A few minutes passed, and you were laughing and dancing with your mamá and Natalia, swinging Alejandra around you as well as she laughed like you were also her big sibling. Mirabel burst into the room, panting and telling about cracks in the house. Her Abuela's face turned into one of concern as she urged her to show her.
You all walked downstairs to see the house perfectly fine. She tried desperately to explain her situation, that what she saw was real, but Abuela wouldn't have it, and she ushered everyone back inside with music. You felt bad for Mirabel, you knew she loved Antonio, but you weren't sure who to believe. As Natalia pulled you back by the hand, you gently pried it off, telling her you needed some fresh air. Understanding, she let you go and you walked through the halls of the great house, looking for an exit to somewhere. You walked out the door and sat on the grass next to the magical residence, looking up at the sky fading from dark orange to blue and black, white speckles of stars just beginning to appear. The moon started to slowly show itself, its ghostly white figure hanging up in the sky, as if hung up with string.
You smiled as a butterfly landed on a small flower next to you. Kids liked to hang around la Casa Madrigal because of its abundance of flora and insects, graceful ones like butterflies and charming ones such as ladybugs. You cupped one hand behind the butterfly, letting its delicate wings gently graze your palm. Its colors were disguised by the darkness that was beginning to fade across the Encanto as the moon proudly revealed itself in the sky.
The butterfly flew away as you stood up, brushing yourself off and heading back to the party. You were looking around, admiring the vibrancy of the tiles when you felt something warm and fuzzy against your face. You backed up just enough to see a yellow ruana and the boy who was sporting it. The boy you had walked into without noticing. Camilo Madrigal.
"Watch where you're going."
"Sorry."
You weren't really sorry, and neither of you were intent on talking to each other, especially since this has been such a happy night. You both walked right past each other, heading in opposite directions. The butterfly you met earlier was now inside the casita, fluttering its pink wings as it landed on one of Isabela's roses. Unbeknownst to you, someone was walking right along there, trekking to the washroom. Her hand traced along the walls, and as it trailed the delicate petals of pink and red, she unintentionally led a pink butterfly to its demise.
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