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Rosario relaxed quietly into the armchair that had been provided to her. She smiled at the wondrous sight before her. Rubén and Pedro laughing along at a joke that they had known for years while they were writing what looked like letters, while Edgar and Rosie teased each other back and forth while painting ornaments. Edgar's coming out a little more darker aesthetic, but it was still lovely in its gothic charm. Her son was so talented and Rosie's lighter work showcased the hope that was easily seen.
Roberto and Maria on the other hand, were just relaxing quietly on the settee, drinking some cocoa. Maria seemed to be sharing some tips from a book on love? Had Roberto finally found some love? That was wonderful! Roberto was a nice man, and while he was reserved, everyone deserved love if they so wanted it.
"Garza Morena, what are you thinking?" Rubén asked, leaning on the back of her seat. She hummed as she strummed the guitar in her hands lightly, testing the strings.
"I'm simply happy, Felíx." She leaned against his hands, which were quick to wrap around her shoulders. His hair, a thick silver river, fell down over her own shoulders as he leaned his head against the back of hers. Her fingers itched with the need to braid it, he didn't often let it down, but that would come later tonight. She would be allowed to play with it later.
"It's not often that we get to spend time with everyone." Rubén nodded against the back of her head. "It is wonderful that we can do so right now."
Rosario was about to reply when paint suddenly hit the edge of her jeans. She stared down at it, before turning her head and looking at Edgar and Rosie, who had froze in their positions. Paintbrushes held high in what was clear was a paint war, but Rosario was an unintended casualty and clearly not something that either of them had planned for.
She instead smiled at the two.
Ed gulped, and Rosie looked frightened.
Felíx behind her cackled as he let go of the hug so she could get up and chase the "kids" around. Ed yelped and shot away, carrying Karl with him, who chattered and cackled in his own little way. Rosie used her ice skating abilities to keep away from Rosario, leaping high above seats and the other furniture alike as she laughed loudly.
Maria sighed and ducked her head as Rosie leapt over her and Roberto while Rosario simply went around.
"Now what's happened?" She asked good-naturedly.
"It seems Ed and Rosie got into a painting war. Then Rosario, my poor darling, was an unnecessary casualty, and decided to show them both what war was." Rosario heard Felíx explain as she finally cornered Ed and threw the young man over her shoulder.
"Rosario!" Edgar whined from over her shoulder. "This is embarrassing!"
"Eddie, that's a position we've all been in!" Pedro replied from his spot on the floor. "Except for Rosario herself of course."
"I win!" Rosie cackled, and Rosario was quick to deposit her son with Felíx, who caught Ed in his arms with ease. Ed, the dear boy, was pouting. Although that pour quickly turned to one of his grins as Rosario immediately took off after Rosie, who shrieked and tried to make a break for it.
Too little, too late. Rosario had caught her too and swept her up and over her shoulder as well, depositing her in Pedro's arms. The man cackled as he latched onto his niece to keep her from squirming away.
"This is unfair punishment!" Rosie wailed dramatically in her uncle's arms as she went limp on him. "We did nothing wrong according to the rules of warfare!"
"Oh yes you did!" Felíx teased, Edgar pouting in his arms. "You involved an unnecessary participant. Who then proceeded to wipe the floor with you, but that is simply how Rosario fights."
"I will accept my punishment with grace." Edgar intoned. Karl nodded from Felíx's shoulder, and Rosario felt her heart melt a little at the sight.
Roberto sighed from his position on the settee, sipping at his cocoa. He always was a watcher, their Roberto. Rosario was just grateful that someone was perhaps pulling him out of his shell and–
Felíx gasped, dropping Ed's feet and leaning forward. Ed grabbed onto Felíx's shoulders, staring at Rubén with concern.
"Rubén? Rubén what's the matter?"
"Felíx?" Pedro asked, letting go of Rosie and standing to his feet. "Felíx, what is this feeling?"
Roberto was looking around, alert for something that Rosario could not see.
Or perhaps, something that she could not feel.
"I feel cold." Edgar whispered, his hand coming up and closing around the front of his shirt. He was wearing a simple turtleneck today, as it was a day for celebration for family, not a day for hiding in his cloak. "Rubén, why do I feel cold?"
Felíx straightened up, and his eyes were burning.
Rosario nearly gasped when she saw the look in his eyes. They were burning with blue fire from within, the fire from which his Xiuhxoxoauhqui has decided to gift upon him. They were burning with righteous anger.
"Darling?" Rosario dared to ask.
"Someone has broken the Old Rules." Felíx whispered, his voice carrying more quiet strength than it usually did. "Someone has broken the Old Rules, and now the ones who are dead will rise and walk the earth once more."
Rosario felt her heart drop.
No, surely someone hadn't been stupid enough to break those Rules? Surely someone hadn't been foolish enough to dare to try and–
A groaning filled the air, and Rosario had a terrible, sinking feeling that they had made a truly terrible decision to live near a graveyard, but Edgar has influenced them to buy this house in Japan and–
Slam
Slam
Slam
The door slammed open and a man, what used to be a man, stood there. His neck was bent at the wrong angle, and his teeth were bared in a fascimile of a smile. His, its, skin was a sickly greying color, and its eyes were so cloudy that she couldn't see the original color. The skin around the nails has receded in death, giving it the appearance of claws. Torn clothes, what used to be a fine suit, was hanging off of its body, and the sickly sweet scent of rot filled what used to be a happy house.
Rosario reached for her guitar, an instrument that used to be for music, she could instead use for protection. Even if it hurt her to do so, Felíx had gifted it to her on their fifth anniversary, but this was more important and when they survived she simply could get a new one–
Felíx was faster.
She should remember that her Darling was a master swordsman for a reason. And that the sword he carried was never far from him.
The, the, zombie, she supposed was the correct word here, the resurrected undead, the poor body that needed rest and was denied that–
Was skewered through on Felíx's sword.
He pulled the sword out and slid around the body in a smooth motion, slicing off the legs with a clean swipe of his sword before it fell to the ground. They were never going to get that out of the carpet, were they? The blood was brown, signifying the decay and sluggishness of the body.
The body still groaned, clawing its way forward with a moan, and Rosario didn't know whether it was of pain or something else.
Something whizzed by Rosario's body, from Pedro's position, and a knife sunk its way into the body's head. She hadn't needed to move at all, she trusted Pepe completely.
A final sound of pain, and the body shuddered one last time, before stopping its movement at last.
"Well, we found the weak point." Edgar said, his voice weak with its attempt at levity.
"Felíx, are you hurt?" Rosario quickly moved, checking over her love. He seemed perfectly in health, and truly that might has well have been a warmup for Felíx, not even that.
"So, someone has been stupid?" Maria asked, her voice thin with horror as she stared down at the body with mixed reactions flickering across her face. Concern was the most prominent one, followed closely by anger for those that had done this atrocity.
"Someone is messing with powers beyond their control." Roberto reached up and rubbed at the place between his eyebrows. "Rubén, shall we attempt to find who this is and teach them right from wrong?"
"If they haven't already died to the resurrected dead." Rosie said darkly, almost imitating her brother.
"They have not." Felíx said. His hand flexed around the handle of his sword, and his eyes flickered from burning blue to righteous brown. "Yes Roberto, I do believe they need to be taught a lesson."
Rosario's mind whirred while the wind blew through the open doorway.
Something to break the Old Rules needed money to back it all up. Something like this needed time, money, patience but this all screamed of impatience as well.
It all screamed politics to Rosario.
Someone in politics has done this, and someone got greedy and rushed ahead. So they insisted upon going ahead with something and this was the end result. An apocalypse on their hands.
Rosario was not brought up like her love was. She was brought up in prosperity. She was brought up in a home that expected her to be a trophy wife, to be nothing more than a woman in a man's world. Her parents had seen to it that she had gotten nothing but the bare minimum of education and more etiquette lessons than she could ever care to remember. It was a cage, a prison she had never expected to escape.
Rosario had never been good at following expectations placed upon her. She refused to let herself be held back at an education level her parents set for her and instead went for more. She went for a higher education, excelled at it, and then went for more. She excelled at her etiquette lessons and then she plied her tutors to teach her more about politics.
She was just a young girl after all, surely it wouldn't be too much of her to ask for some knowledge of the world? Her tutors ate it right up, telling her more and more about the world outside the walls of her home. Her cage.
Once she had grown enough, she broke the cage that night and flew away and never looked back.
Flying away to where her parents could never find her, she applied her lessons. All that she had learned. She flew up the political ladder, taking down opponents left and right and undermining those who deserved it.
Right until she met him.
The only one that she had never been able to find dirt on, because there simply was none to be found. Felíx Rubén García Darío, who was someone that did things because he wanted them to be done for everyone's benefit. Not for politics sake.
"Take care of this Felíx." Rosario said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "You take care of the supernatural side."
Felíx's eyebrow creeped up, a small smirk making its way across his face. He probably already had an idea of what she was going to be doing while he worked on the supernatural side.
"Rosario, what will you be doing?" Pedro asked, retrieving his knife from the resurrected dead's head.
"Me? I'll be taking care of the fools who dared to do break such rules." Rosario's grin was as bloodthirsty as a shark's.