Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mirabel groaned. She'd just been collecting berries in the woods when some teenage boys had come and kicked her into the prickly berry bushes that covered her skin in scratches and then one of them had stolen her glasses and kicked her in the face. Then they'd pulled her out of the bushes, turning some of the scratches into cuts, before tossing her against a tree.

Her black curls were brushing against her tan neck, her hazel eyes filled with tiredness. She was wearing a white t-shirt, a dark blue skirt and bright purple alpargatas, all embroidered with gold butterflies and a dozen symbols matching her family members.

dumbells for Luisa, various flowers for Isabela, herbs & food for Mama, rainclouds & suns for tia Pepa, music notes for Dolores, chameleons for Camilo, toucans & capybaras for Antonio.

Now she was lying under the same tree they'd tossed her against with bleeding cuts, no glasses, and a black eye.

"Você está bem? O que você está fazendo aqui?" a blurry figure a dozen feet away came into her view.

"Huh?" she groaned, not understanding what they were saying.

"Oh! Um. Estás bien?" they asked in Spanish.

"Estoy bien" she replied.

"You don't look okay" they spoke.

Mirabel sighed, giving up her act.

"Some boys hurt me and took my glasses" the 10-year-old admitted.

"What!? Why would they do that?" they asked, approaching her and kneeling down.

"Because I'm the giftless Madrigal" she mumbled, turning onto her back.

"So what? Why would that give someone an excuse to beat you up and essentially steal your sense of sight!" they reasoned.

Mirabel grunted, turning her head to look at the blurry figure of the tree.

She heard some shuffling around until she heard a 'hm' from the person.

The person put their hand to her chin and moved her head so she'd look at them.

Suddenly, they put her glasses, cracked lenses and all, onto her face.

"I found it in the bushes" he explained.

She instantly recognized him as one of the twins from the Brazilian family who moved to the Encanto a few months before. He and his twin brother were the same age as her while their mom was about a decade younger than Mirabels Mama & Tia.

He had straight dark brown hair that touched his tan shoulders and matched his brown eyes. He was wearing a beige buttoned-up shirt, dark brown pants, black alpargatas with bows on the heels, all covered in embroidery of blue flowers.

"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing her looking at the embroidery of his clothing.

"Oh! You like embroidery? Come on, we can talk about it while my Mama fixes you up!" he told her.

"Gracias. My name's Mirabel. Um. This is awkward but...which twin are you?" Mirabel asked, getting up with him as he began guiding her somewhere. 

"Oh its okay. My Mama says my Papa got us mixed up all the time. I'm Lucas! I love sewing and embroidery and cross-stitching and knitting!" the boy, Lucas explained.

"I like sewing and embroidery too! I've never tried cross-stitching or knitting before though" Mirabel replied, happy to find someone with similar interests.

"You should try it! Cross-stitching is a type of embroidery except it's on a cloth instead of clothes and you sew in X shapes" Lucas responded, holding her hand. 

The whole way there they chatted about embroidery and sewing. Lucas using English and broken Spanish the whole time.

When they arrived at Lucas' home Mirabel was surprised at the cozy feeling she felt just by stepping inside. The couch was decorated by colorful pillows, there was a fluffy rug on the floor, lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

"This place looks so nice" she commented.

"You have my Mama to blame for that" Lucas laughed.

"Speaking of which- Mamá! Tenemos a alguien a quien debemos ayudar!" Lucas announced.

almost immediately the woman Mirabel had seen around town with the twins came rushing into the room.

"Lucas? Essa é a doce Madrigal? O que aconteceu com ela? Por que ela está machucada? Estás bien?" the woman spoke, ending her talk in Spanish with her hand on Mirabels cheek.

The woman had a long dark brown curly braid that rested against her tan shoulder, her dark brown eyes glimmered with worry. she wore a dark green dress embroidered in green herbs.

"Estoy bien.  I'm okay. Some boys hurt me and hide my glasses" Mirabel replied.

"Ttong nan geu nomdeul-eul jug-il geoya " Lucas' mother muttered.

Mirabel looked at Lucas, who was also confused at what his mama said.

"Vovô, Mamãe papai was half-Korean and taught mama some Korean but she doesn't want to teach us the words she knows until we're older because they're mostly 'adult words'" Lucas explained as his mother walked out of the room.

"Oh okay. Do you know Spanish?" Mirabel asked.

"No. Only some Spanish we've picked up around town but it's pretty broken. The speech pattern is different from Portuguese and most words are really different like 'brawn'. I don't even know what 'brawn' is in Spanish!" Lucas explained.

"Queso de cerdo. I can teach you" Mirabel smiled.

"Yes please! It'll make living here so much easier for us!" Lucas grinned wide.

Lucas' mother came into the room holding a first-aid kit.

"Come, I'll bandage your injuries" she spoke, patting the couch.

Mirabel sat down, almost immediately being bombarded with questions about her injuries. half were in what she guessed was Portuguese. 

When she managed to answer most of the questions Lucas' mother began bandaging her injuries.

"Gracias Senora Santos" Mirabel spoke once she was halfway done.

"You don't have to thank me. If those boys hurt you again, go straight to your parents okay? my nomes Alice" Lucas' mother replied.

"Gracias Senora Alice" Mirabel smiled, holding back a wince as a partially bad cut was bandaged.

"Mirabel! Mirabel! Meet my brother Miguel!" Lucas announced, rushing into the room with a boy that looked just like him. 

the most noticable difference between the boys' physical appearance was Lucas' twin had much shorter hair, reaching only to his chin. he wore a dark tan buttoned-up shirt, tan pants and dark blue alpargatas decorated by yellow hummingbirds and red hearts, matching his buzz of energy despite it almost being sunset.

"Olá! Meu nome é Miguel! Gosto de esportes, dança, acrobacia e esportes! " he rambled in Portuguese.

"you said 'sports' twice" Lucas pointed out.

"oh is that what 'esportes' means?" Mirabel thought.

"Sorry! I speak only in Portuguese when I'm excited" Miguel apologized.

"I think I can tell your personality just from that" Mirabel replied, laughing.

Chapter Text

The familia Madrigal walked down the path to Casita, ready to help the town. 

Suddenly a boy the same age as Camilo and Mirabel ran up the path to the familia. Most of them assumed it was someone needing their help. 

The boy had fluffy short dark brown hair framing his tan face, his brown eyes glittered with passion and joy. He wore a beige shirt, dark brown pants, dark blue alpargatas and an orange ruana, all having embroidery of yellow hummingbirds and red hearts, except for his pants which had blue flowers instead of yellow hummingbirds.

"Oh hello. Do you need help with something?" Pepa asked while holding 1-year-old Antoni, being near the front of the group.

"Não, senhora! Estou procurando sua sobrinha! Vamos praticar nossa dança!" he explained in a language none of them knew. the only word they caught was 'sobrina'.

"Do you need Isabela or Luisa?" Alma guessed.

The boy scowled at her before shaking his head.

"Miguel! Desculpa por ter esquecido! Vai, vai, vai! Antes que a gente se atrase!" Mirabel spoke when she saw who it was, running to him before grabbing his wrist and beginning to run off.

She had curly black hair tied in a small low ponytail and hazel eyes glittering with joy. She was wearing a white t-shirt, a dark cyan skirt, bright alpargatas and green glasses with a ribbon tied on the left temple, all embroidered with gold butterflies, red hearts and a few symbols for each family member.

"Mirabel! We're not going to be in trouble if we're a few minutes late! hananmin!" the boy, Miguel replied.

"I don't care! We gotta go!" she groaned.

"Mirabel! You do not just run off without permission!" Alma boomed in a voice that made Dolores wince and cover her ears.

Mirabel and Miguel froze at the bottom of the hill.

"Amkae" Miguel called Alma.

"Yeah! Amkae!" Mirabel agreed before bursting into joyous giggles the other Madrigals hadn't heard in over half a decade.

the 11-year-olds ran off hand in hand giggling at the old woman's new nickname.

Dolores was shocked when she heard her prima asking what it meant and her friend explaining it was an insult his mama used for mean adults.

"What was that?" Julieta voiced the question all of them were wondering.

"I'm with Tia. What was that!? I've never even seen that boy and suddenly he's best friends with my melliza!?" Camilo agreed.

"Well they seem to get along nicely so I don't think we should really be mad about it. I personally like that Mirabel has friends" Agustin spoke up.

Alma was the only one who disagreed but she didn't say anything.

---

"Aaron!" Miguel called when he saw his twin and another boy sitting together. they were sitting on the stone lining of a small grass clearing at the edge of town.

"Are those my pants!?" Lucas exclaimed, jumping up onto his feet while pointing at Miguels clothing.

"Yeah. All of mine were dirty" Miguel replied.

Mirabel held back a laugh at the boys squabbling.

She looked at the two boys, one sitting and one standing, at the stone bricks. 

Aaron was a boy their age who was the son of the town baker and his half-mexican half-venezuelan wife. He had bright blue eyes that stood bright against his short dark brown waves of hair and skin the color of amber. He wore a dark blue shirt, beige pants and dark green sandals, all embroidered by cyan stars and red hearts.

Lucas looked about the same as the year before except his hair was slightly longer and tied in a ponytail. He wore a dark blue buttoned-up shirt, dark brown overalls and black alpargatas with bows on the back of his ankles, all embroidered by blue flowers and red hearts.

"You ready for practice?" Aaron interrupted the brothers' argument as he adjusted the strings on his guitar.

Lucas, Miguel and Mirabel all nodded in agreement before getting into position.

Mirabel and Miguel stood in the middle of the clearing while Lucas stood on the stone bricks with Aaron sitting next to him holding his guitar.

Aaron broke the short silence by beginning to play a soft melody.

Mirabel and Miguel began dancing while Lucas cleared his throat and began singing.

It was a song Mirabel had taught him a few weeks after they met, one she didn't know the origin of. Three triplets she called it. A song about a set of triplets corrupted by their cruel mother and raising their children under her rule before they break out from under her rule.

"Triplets alive and well.

One grows cold.
One grows warm.
One stays alone. 

Their mother grows cruel. 
Their fathers gone.

Their children grow. 
Their parents gone.
Under their mothers rule.

Children alive and well.

One grows life.
One stays quiet.
One has no rest.
One forgets themself.
One is forgotten.
One is kind but shy.

It never aligns.
Their children come alive.
The triplets become alive.

With the garden of time.
It finally aligns.

One loves the cold.
One loves the warm.
One loves their home.

One blooms life.
One becomes so loud.
One gets some rest.
One remembers themself.
One is remembered.
One is kind but bold.

It shall align.
Just stay with time.

El padre ama.
La madre sufre" 

When Lucas finished, Mirabel and Miguel had theirs to each other and had their hands held out.

"You know those last two lines always confuse me. 'The father loves. The mother hurts'? What does that even mean?" Miguel questioned, stepped forward.

Mirabel shrugged as she walked over to Lucas and Aaron.

"That's how the song goes" Mirabel replied.

"I like it! Sounds kinda like a lullaby" Aaron commented as he put down his guitar next to him.

"Of course you'd like lullabies at eleven years old" Lucas joked, patting Aarons head.

"Of course you'd make fun of me for it, scoreggia" Aaron rolled his eyes.

"What does that mean!?" Miguel exclaimed.

"Ahem" someone coughed to get the childrens attention.

They turned around to see 15-year-old Luisa carrying a pair of donkeys.

"Mirabel, are these your friends?" she asked.

"Yeah" Mirabel confirmed.

"Okay. Nice singing and dancing by the way!" Luisa replied, walking off.

"Phew! Thought she was going to tell Abuela and get me in trouble!" Mirabel spoke.

"What? Just because shes a racist amkae who can't handle her granddaughter making friends by herself?" Lucas remarked.

"Exactly" Mirabel agreed.

"Come on, let's go into town. I'm running low on fabric for sewing" Mirabel continued.

"And I need new embroidery ideas!" Lucas added, following her out of the clearing.

Chapter Text

Mirabel stood in the corner, watching her twin opening his presents in the middle of the courtyard. It was his 13th birthday and everyone had been so busy no one had said anything nice to Mirabel all day. She felt she was being selfish when she thought about that but it was true. Only Alma and Isabela had talked to her. Isabela had just told her to not try taking Camilos attention and Alma had told her to stay out of the way and not bother anyone.

Mirabel had her shoulder-length hair tied in a low ponytail. She was wearing a pale blue blouse, a dark blue skirt, bright pink alpargatas and green glasses with a white ribbon on the right temple, all embroidered with gold butterflies, red hearts and a few symbols symbolizing each family member.

"Hey Mirabel!" was what snapped her out of her thoughts. Her parents and Luisa turned their heads but when they recognized the person calling, they went back to watching Camilo.

Mirabel smiled when she saw who it was. 

Miguel was near the front doors, gesturing for her to follow him.

His short hair was combed back neatly and his eyes were practically glowing with excitement. He wore a white buttoned-up shirt, dark blue overalls and bright red sandals, all embroidered by his classic yellow hummingbirds and red hearts.

"Quer abandonar esse lugar?" he asked, approaching her.

Mirabel smirked, nodding in confirmation.

She followed him outside into the light of the sunset.

Casita dimmed slightly as Mirabel and Miguel began heading to the clearing.

---

Mirabel and Aaron entered his home, the former feeling slightly nervous.

Aarons wavy dark brown hair tickled his neck at the ends and his blue eyes shined with affection. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, dark brown pants and dark blue alpargatas, embroidered with cyan stars and red hearts. 

"Mama! Papa! Posso lasciare che il mio amico resti a cena?" Aaron announced.

"Di quale amico si tratta?" an older mans voice called from what Mirabel guessed was the kitchen.

"Its Mirabel" Aaron spoke.

"Oh Mirabel? Mi piace quella ragazza, è dolce, molto amichevole" a woman's voice called from the other way.

"So can she stay for dinner?" Aaron asked.

"David? Cosa ne pensi?" the woman queried.

"Certo, non mi dispiace cucinare per un'altra persona " the man replied.

Aaron clapped his hands happily, signalling conformation.

"Come on!" he spoke, bringing Mirabel into the dining room.

Within a few minutes Mirabel was sitting with Aaron and his mom at their dining table while his father brought a few dishes of food.

"So how are your parents?" Aarons mother, Elena, asked. 

She had the same bright blue eyes as her son, her black waves of hair covering her honey colored shoulders. She wore a white blouse, a soft green skirt and black sandals, all embroidered by wheat stalks and red hearts.

"Oh the usual. Mama keeps trying to stay up until 2 am cooking because Amkae-"

Aaron snorted, hearing the insult.

"-told her to and Papa keeps bringing her to bed" Mirabel smiled innocently, making it seem like she didn't know this wasn't normal.

Both Elena and Aarons father, David, gave her concerned looks.

"That's just how her familia is" Aaron commented.

"Whos Amkae?" David asked.

He had cool walnut skin, dark brown eyes and short curls of dark brown. He wore a dark green buttoned-up shirt, dark brown pants and soft green alpargatas, embroidered with brown muffins and red hearts.

"Her abuela" Aaron replied, Mirabel nodding in confirmation.

"Alma? The head of the Madrigal familia?" Elena clarified. 

Mirabel nodded.

"How long has she been doing this to your mama?" David asked.

"The whole time shes had her gift so...fourty-two years" Mirabel replied, still smiling.

"Mirabel that's emotional and physical abuse. Your mama needs to get out of that situation. And so do you" Elena spoke, reaching across the table to hold Mirabels hand in hers.

"Don't worry! Amkae Alma will die in a few years and everyone will be happier!" Mirabel replied, shocking everyone else in the room.

...

"Holy sh-"

---

When Mirabel came home, the sun had set almost an hour before.

She yawned as she walked up to the front doors, Casita giving a warning tap with the path tiles.

When the door opened, she was surprised to find her parents and sisters nervously waiting in the courtyard.

"Mirabel! Mi pequeña mariposa!" Mama cried, rushing to her and holding the 12-year-olds face in her palms.

"Don't scare us like that ever again!" Isa yelled, halfway between a plea and a demand.

"What? Why are you so panicked?" Mirabel asked, sensing Dolores' presence moving to outside her door.

"Camilo opened your present and went to thank you but then we saw you weren't there. Then Dolores told us you were having dinner with a friend. We've been waiting for you to come back for hours" Papa explained.

Mirabel looked at Mama for a few seconds before speaking.

"When was the last time you slept?" she asked, noticing the bags under her mothers eyes.

"What?" Mama and Luisa asked in unison.

"When was the last time you slept?" Mirabel repeated, putting her hands on her mamas wrists and gently pushing them down.

"Um...this morning?" Mama replied, wondering where the conversation was going.

"When did you go to bed last night?" Mirabel questioned, taking a step back.

"Um..." Mama didn't answer.

"Casita" Mirabel spoke, folding her arms behind her back.

Suddenly the tiles under Mama shuffled before moving to drag her across the courtyard, up the stairs, past a shocked Dolores, past Almas still closed door and through her suddenly open door.

Mirabel stood there with her papa and hermanas staring at her.

"I'm feeling tired" she finally said before skipping up the stairs and entering her room.

...

"Miércoles" Papa and Isabela uttered in unison.

Chapter Text

"Who in your family needs the most help in your opinion?" Lucas asked, working on his sewing project.

Mirabel paused her own sewing.

She had her hair cut into a pixie cut, extra curly without its own weight pulling it down. She was wearing a white blouse, bright pink alpargatas and a skirt embroidered with gold butterflies, red hearts and symbols of who she considered her family & friends.

"I think...Luisa. Shes always helping people but never herself" she replied.

Lucas stayed quiet for a moment.

The few strands of hair escaping his dark brown ponytail hid his expression and chocolate brown eyes from where Mirabel sat, his tan hands pausing their action. He wore a dark green t-shirt, dark brown overalls and black alpargatas, embroidered with blue flowers and red hearts.

"I'm going to talk to señor David" he spoke, standing up and leaving the room.

---

Mirabel watched from the doorway as Luisa followed David to the store in front of the house.

Luisas brown eyes were tired but begging to help and her brown waves of hair were tied in a high ponytail, the ends brushing against the back of her pale neck. She wore a white t-shirt with red string sewn into the neckline, a dark purple skirt and dark blue alpargatas.

Davids curly dark brown hair framed his face, slightly shorter in the back than the front. He wore a soft green buttoned-up shirt, dark brown pants and dark green alpargatas, embroidered with brown muffins and red hearts.

"So what did you need my help with señor David?" Luisa asked.

"Baking" David replied.

"What?" Luisa and Mirabel said in unison.

"I need someone to help me with baking. Aarons busy practicing his guitar and Elena is getting groceries farther in town. I just need help for a few minutes" David explained. 

Lies. Aaron was learning sewing with Lucas in his room and Elena was in town explaining the Luisa situation to other villagers.

"Um, okay..." Luisa muttered. Mirabel knew she couldn't say no to people so of course she'd agree to something as simple as helping someone bake.

Mirabel watched as Luisa spent five minutes helping, got really focused, and kept helping for another fifty-five minutes. 

Eventually Mirabel came over and began helping too, chatting with Luisa a bit.

"Okay you've helped enough, you can get back to work now" David spoke.

Luisa finally looked up at the clock and realized the time she'd spent.

She rushed out with a quick 'goodbye' and went to help the town.

"So what exactly is the plan?" Mirabel asked.

"I just did it" David grinned mischievously.

Mirabel watched his eyes with confusion.

"The plan is to get her to not 'help the town' for 1pm to 2pm every day. If we keep doing it she'll just start managing her daily break herself. Elena is out explaining the plan and reasons to the other villagers" David explained.

Mirabel smirked as Aaron and Lucas came into the room.

"Is she gone?" Aaron asked.

"Yep. Her breaks done" David confirmed.

---

For the next week at 1pm exactly a villager would approach Luisa and ask her to help them with something and make sure she kept doing it until 2pm. From organizing books that turned into reading a novel, to taking care of kids that turned into playing with them.

At the weekly town meeting, Alma left at the end and everyone else stayed behind, Mirabel and her friends had secretly spied on through the windows. Then señora Arias, the town artist, relayed that Luisa seemed to partially enjoy painting with her.

After that the villagers asked her to help them with more paint related tasks. From helping them paint their house, which the person who asked actually needed help with because they couldn't find a ladder for the higher areas, to helping make some flyers for a school project. 

The village kids even began joining, asking her to help them draw hopscotch games on town paths and then making her play hopscotch with them.

---

After the second week Mirabel noticed Luisa sitting on a bench.

"What's up?" the 13-year-old asked.

"No one's asking me for help with anything so I'm just relaxing while I wait" Luisa explained. They must've forgotten to ask her to do something for her break.

"Well maybe you could do something else? You seemed to enjoy painting with señora Arias a few days ago" Mirabel replied, rubbing her thumb against the blue flower embroidery on her skirt.

"But what about when someone needs my help?" Luisa asked.

"If I find anyone looking for you, I'll just tell them you're at señora Arias' house" Mirabel replied.

Luisa thought for a moment before standing up.

"Alright" she agreed, heading to the Arias household.

---

"Mirabel" Luisa spoke, entering Mirabels room.

"Hm?" Mirabel hummed, embroidering paintbrushes on her skirt while sitting on the floor in her nightgown.

"Have you and the villagers been tricking me into taking daily breaks and keeping me busy so I wouldn't notice?" Luisa asked.

Mirabel froze mid-stitch. 

"Thank you. I must admit I really needed breaks" Luisa sighed.

"Your welcome. I'm sewing paintbrushes for you" Mirabel replied, holding up the half-finished paintbrush on the hem of her skirt.

"Who do the other symbols represent?" Luisa asked, shutting the door and sitting down in front of Mirabel.

Mirabel inhaled deeply before she began explaining.

Blue flowers for her crush Lucas, yellow hummingbirds for her friend Miguel, cyan stars for her primo Aaron, wheat stalks for tia Elena, brown muffins for tio David and different colored paintbrushes for her hermana Luisa.

---

After that day Lucas gave Luisa a watch to wear so she could tell when she needed to take a break. Of course she'd finish what she was doing first then go do something less taxing. She'd still usually help the town but it was always something that didn't require her strength and was less stressful. Her favorite thing to do was painting lessons with señora Arias, who she started calling by her first name, Celeste. She'd occasionally help David in the bakery as well.

They'd stopped using 'help' when asking Luisa if she'd like to help them with something during her break, using 'join in' instead.

Chapter Text

"Hey do any of the gifts have a physical effect? I'm curious" Elena asked at one dinner. At the table was Elena, David, Aaron, Lucas, Miguel, Alice, Mirabel and Luisa.

They'd started the tradition of the friend group and their families having dinner together the first Friday of every month. It was Luisas first dinner with them.

"Oh Camilos gift requires him to use a lot of physical energy. His gift is the only one that uses more physical energy than magical energy" Mirabel replied, surprising Luisa.

"How do you know that?" Luisa asked.

Mirabel shrugged.

"His door told me" she said cryptically before continuing eating her food.

"Do you know any way to turn off his gift forcefully?" David asked, getting stares from the other adults.

"If you do a karate-chop motion on the top of his head, he'll turn into his base form" Mirabel explained. She demonstrated by hitting Aarons head next to her with her hand in a karate-chop position.

"I'm trying that" Lucas commented.

"We're all doing it. We're making Saturday no shape-shifting day" David replied, smirking.

"Genius, we're doing that" Alice approved.

"Oh like my daily one hour breaks but weekly and lasting a whole day instead" Luisa smiled of the idea.

Luisas skirt was now embroidered by paintbrushes of various colors, showing her new found love of painting and red hearts, showing her new place in their little family and a gold butterfly on the front of the waist.

"Exactly!" David snapped his fingers at Luisa.

---

The next day Mirabel went into town with her friends, following Camilo to the town center.

They watched as Camilo approached some younger kids and began trying to entertain them.

He then shape-shifted into a character Mirabel recognized from an old picture book.

"Miguel!" Lucas shouted when his twin ran up to Camilo.

Without warning Miguel did the karate-chop motion on Camilos head, instantly turning him back.

Camilos green eyes were filled with mischief, contrasting his soft tan skin and chocolate colored curls. He wore a white buttoned-up shirt under a bright orange ruana and dark brown pants, the outfit finished off by a pair of gray alpargatas.

"Ow! What was that for?" Camilo asked.

"Sorry kids! It's no shape-shift Saturday! which means no shape-shifting for Camilo!" Miguel explained.

"What? Hey!" Camilo exclaimed when Miguel grabbed his wrist and began dragging him over to a concerned Mirabel, a laughing Lucas and a disappointed Aaron.

"Sorry Cami, The council has decided you're not allowed to shape-shift on Saturdays. Its like Luisas daily one hour breaks. Only yours last a whole day and are only on Saturdays" Lucas chuckled.

"'The council'? Do you mean the village elders? I'm surprised Abuela agreed to this" Camilo replied.

"No, that was a joke. He means my parents and their mom" Aaron explained.

"Anyways. You're spending the day with us instead! We've got this cool new dance we wanna try but we need a third person. And after the stunt Lucas pulled last time he tried to dance, plus Aaron being the only one who can play music, you're perfect!" Miguel added.

"What about me?" Mirabel asked.

"I've seen you on the accordian, you're terrible" Miguel remarked.

"I just need practice" she retorted.

"I am not sticking around to hear that" Camilo spoke up, beginning to walk away as he shape-shifted into a little kid.

"OW!" he cried when Miguel karate-chopped him on the head.

"You don't have to hit him that hard!" Mirabel complained.

"Come on Cami!" Miguel declared, grabbing Camilos arm and beginning to drag him.

---

Lucas inhaled, ready to sing, when he was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Aaron! Sorry to cut off your friend time but could some of you help me? I just need two people" David announced from the edge of the clearing.

"I can help! I don't really want to dance right now" Camilo spoke up, walking from Mirabel and Miguel to David.

"Thank you Camilo. I just need some help with baking. I've got a bigger order of bread than usual and I need some help" David replied, patting Camilo on the head.

"I can help too!" Mirabel cheered, rushing over.

"I'll help too. I don't want to watch my brother flirt with your son" Lucas said, coming up next to Mirabel.

"Hey!" Miguel squeaked, both his and Aarons faces tinted red.

"Thanks kids, come on" David laughed, guiding them towards the bakery.

---

It turned out Mirabel and Miguel didn't need to do much, since once it was explained to him, Camilo almost instantly got into the rhythm.

"Have you done this before?" David asked.

"Well, tia Julieta taught me a few things about making pastries but I've never made actual bread before! It's so fascinating!" Camilo replied, poking the bread dough with a flour covered finger.

"Well then feel free to come bake anytime. I could use the help since Aarons pretty bad at baking" David chuckled.

Mirabel smiled from the corner, watching them knead their loaves of bread dough.

---

Mirabel sat on the floor of her room in her nightgown, sewing a brown rolling pin onto her skirt.

A knock on the door snapped away her focus.

"Come in!" she called.

The door opened to Camilo standing there.

"Hey. Um, thanks. For forcing me to take a break yesterday" he spoke, closing the door behind him as he stepped inside.

"I wouldn't mind doing it next week. Bread making was fun" he continued, sitting across from her.

Mirabel nodded approvingly.

"Rolling pins for Cami" Mirabel grinned.

"What? Shouldn't there be chameleons for me and rolling pins for tia?" Camilo asked.

Mirabel shook her head.

"This skirt is for my real family and friends. Chameleons match your gift, not your passion" Mirabel replied, returning to her sewing.

"Your real family?" Camilo repeated.

"primo Aaron, tia Elena, tio David, hermana Luisa and primo Camilo" Mirabel spoke.

"What about Antonio?" Camilo asked.

"Antonio is a Madrigal who doesn't have any problems so he doesn't really need my help. We haven't gotten very close because of that. He also gets nightmares and goes to tia Pepa and tio Felixs room a lot. He only really comes to me after nightmares if Casita won't let him go because of your parents doing adult stuff. We used to be close when he was a baby but eventually with me getting so busy practicing with my friends and managing Luisas breaks, we just drifted apart" Mirabel explained.

"Oh" Camilo squeaked.

"I am trying to teach him Portuguese like how my friends Lucas and Miguel taught me. Wanna learn too?" Mirabel asked.

"Yes please!" Camilo smiled.

"Okay so. Queso de cerdo in Portuguese is Músculo" Mirabel began.

Chapter Text

Pepa Madrigal was standing in the fields, crying as it rained above her.

"Hey! What are you doing in my fields?" a woman with wheat stalks embroidered on her clothes shouted over the sound of rainfall, standing in the doorway of the back entrance to the house.

Pepa turned to look at her, the rain slowing in her confusion.

Her curly red braid was soaking wet, draped over her pale shoulder while her bright green eyes carried sorrow and obedience all at once. Her yellow dress was clinging to her figure and her black alpargatas squeaked with water, she seemed not be wearing her usual earrings as well.

"Mama told me to water your fields" Pepa explained.

"Oh no! I specifically told that woman I didn't want her daughter crying all over my wheat farm" Elena corrected, coming into the rain to approach the decade-older woman.

"Come inside. It's no shape-shift Saturday, your son's making cookies" she continued, taking hold of Pepas hand and guiding her inside.

"Wait what?" Pepa asked. 

Before Pepa could even process what was happening, she was sitting inside holding a cup of hot chocolate with a towel over her shoulders watching her son make cookies with the town baker.

"How did this happen exactly?" Pepa asked, gesturing to her son being more enthusiastic than she'd ever seen him.

"Oh! Mirabel explained his gift takes a lot of energy and she also explained how to reverse his shape-shifting. So we used that to formulate no shape-shift Saturday. He's no longer allowed to shape-shift on Saturday" the boy with blue flowers embroidered on his clothes explained.

"Mirabel?" Pepa questioned.

"Bottling up your emotions can increase risk of heart disease" Mirabel spoke, popping her head into view from the living room.

"What?" Pepa squeaked. She knew Mirabel was considered the weird girl in the family by Mama but Pepa didn't realize she was weird enough to research something so specific. 

"Why do you know that?" Pepa asked, putting the warm mug in her lap.

"Because that's what you're doing. Bottling up your emotions" Mirabel explained as she stepped into the doorway, keeping her hand out of view.

"I sewed you a dress. The embroidery isn't done but you can still wear it for now" Mirabel continued, bringing the hand holding a dress into her sight.

"Gracias Mirabel" Pepa thanked, standing up as she put the hot chocolate on the coffee table next to her.

---

Mirabel was glowing with excitement. She was finally beginning to help her tia Pepa! She was also especially proud of the dress she'd made. It was actually meant to be a birthday dress for her mama and tias 49th birthday but she wasn't even done with the embroidery so she guessed it was okay for her tia to wear hers four months early.

When her tia came out of the bathroom, hair fixed and dress changed, Mirabel was squealing with joy. 

Her tias hair was loose down her shoulders instead of tied in a braid. Her yellow dress was replaced with a dress fading from a deep blue to a bright orange embroidered by a yellow sun with a gold butterfly in the middle on her waist and clouds made with white thread poorly dyed slightly yellow covering the hemline.

"You look awesome tia!" Mirabel declared, hopping off the couch to hug Pepa.

"Thank you Mariposa" Pepa replied.

"Here, let me untangle your hair" Elena spoke, coming over with a hairbrush.

"Gracias" Pepa thanked.

The 13-year-old Pepa called her niece rushed off into the bakery while Pepa sat down on the couch.

Mirabel watched with her primo as the cookies baked in the oven for several minutes before she got bored.

She came into the living room to see tia Elena putting tia Pepas hair in a braid crown hairstyle.

"Pretty!" Mirabel commented.

"Do mine please!" Mirabel requested, sitting down next to Pepa.

"Sorry Mirabel, yours is too short. You gotta grow it out if you want me to do yours like your tias" Elena laughed, patting Mirabels head once she was done styling Pepas hair.

Mirabel pouted, making the stubborn baby fat in her cheeks extra visible.

---

Mirabel was sitting on her floor for the third time that month, wearing her nightgown and sewing something new on her skirt. 

A knock on the door once again.

"Come in" Mirabel spoke, not taking her attention off the clouds she was sewing onto the hem of her skirt. Instead of the symbols for her tia scattered around on her skirt, she'd decided to sew them lining the hemline.

Tia Pepa entered the room, closing the door behind her like her son had the week before.

"I was wondering what more you know about bottling up your emotions?" Pepa asked, sitting on her youngest son's bed.

"You've been bottling up your emotions, hiding your real emotions and showing fake ones, since you were five. It's bound to affect your health. You've got increased stress and anxiety. Also the muscle tension and the digestive issues. If you continue you won't make it to your 60th birthday" Mirabel explained as she continued her embroidery, ignoring her tias shock.

"Oh" was all she managed to reply with.

"Yeah you should stop bottling your emotions so much. I don't want to lose my tia too early" Mirabel finally looked up to see her tia on the brink of tears, the cloud above her head drizzling onto her.

"Also, if you want to control your gift better, less stress will help a whole ton. The major stress is causing your emotions to be in a 100 percent control. If you had the average amount of stress, your thoughts would have about 20 to 30 percent control. Similar to Isabela. Her gift, with the normal amount of stress has 20-30 percent emotion control and 70-80 percent thought control" Mirabel continued, turning back to the clothing in her hands.

She squeaked when her tia suddenly came to her knees and hugged her.

"Thank you for telling me Mariposa" Pepa whispered.

"Foi um prazer, tia" Mirabel replied, patting Pepas arm.

Chapter Text

Mirabel had just come home to tell her hermana Luisa some very good news about her and Lucas when something stopped her.

For the first time in almost a decade, the doors were speaking to her. And it wasn't good.

She froze in front of her oldest sister's door, listening to its whispers. 'Chair, vine, neck, breath, death, gone'.

In a swift motion, Mirabel opened the door, went through and slammed it behind her.

Dolores stood confused across the hall when she saw that.

---

When Mirabel found her sister, she was standing on a chair turned away from her with a vine around her neck.

In a flash Mirabel was behind her.

She quickly jumped up and undid the poor knot.

"Wha-" was all Isa managed to say before Mirabel grabbed her by the waist and pulled her off the chair.

"You are Isabela Madrigal, with the gift to create and control the plants around you. Who's stupid excuse of grandmothers eongteoli teaching has brainwashed her into thinking she can only control meongcheonghan nom flowers. Who's family would be devastated if she died. Who is my oldest sister and the one who taught me how to take care of flowers without magic. Who I don't want to lose anymore than I have to Amkaes terrible parenting" Mirabel spoke, keeping her hold on Isabelas waist.

By the time Mirabel was done, Isabela was in tears, sobbing her eyes out.

Her long black hair was tangled at the ends, the tears from her brown eyes streamed down her soft caramel skin. She was wearing a pale purple dress, the frills around her waist scratched Mirabels arms, she wore no shoes but she did wear white socks.

Mirabel let her go as she stood up.

She took her sisters hand and pulled her up with strength surprising for her 13-year-old body.

The two girls headed to the bed.

Mirabel looked at the neatly done bedsheets, glancing at her older sister.

She let go of Isabelas hand before grabbing the blanket and chucking it towards the door.

"That bedspread does not fit the sister I remember. I remember my sister having tons of plushies and pillows on her bed. Oh wait no that's Luisa" Mirabel cut the older of the two off.

Isabela didn't even smile at the joke.

"Anyways sit down, I'm gonna braid your hair" Mirabel spoke, pointing at the bed.

"You can braid hair?" Isabela finally said as she sat on her bed.

"Nope! I'm just looking for a way to pass the time and procrastinate telling Mama to get the fuck out of the kitchen" Mirabel replied, scooting to sit behind her.

Isabela finally smiled, although Mirabel couldn't see it.

Mirabel paused, looking like she was seeing the sheer length of Isabelas hair for the first time.

"You want a haircut?" Mirabel asked.

Isabela nodded.

Mirabel opened the top drawer of the bedside table, where she found the scissors.

She glanced over to where the chair still was, smiling when she spotted a cactus.

Mirabel breathed deeply as she brought the scissors to Isabelas hair.

"You just made something unexpected
Something sharp, something new
It's not symmetrical or perfect
But it's beautiful and it's yours
What else can you do?" she began.

"What else can I do?" Isabela joined in.

"You grow rows and rows of roses
Flor de mayo, by the mile
You make perfect, practiced poses
So much hides behind your smile"

"What could I do if I just grew what I was feelin' in the moment?"
"Do you know where you're going? Whoa"
"What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect?
It just needed to be? And they'd let me be?"

Once Mirabel was done she put down the scissors and they both got off the bed as various plants suddenly sprouted all around them in place of flowers.

"A hurricane of jacarandas
Strangling figs, hanging vines
Palma de cera fills the air as you climb"
"And I push through
What else can I do?

Can I deliver us a river of sundew?
Careful, it's carnivorous, a little just won't do
I wanna feel the shiver of something new
I'm so sick of pretty, I want something true, don't you?"

"You just seem like your life's been a dream" "whoa"
Since the moment you opened your eyes"
"How far do these roots go down?"
All I know are the blossoms you grow" "whoa"
"But it's awesome to see how you rise"
"How far can I rise?
Through the roof, to the skies
Let's go"

They booked it to another part of Isabelas room, where a small lake was located.

"A hurricane of jacarandas" "woo"
"Strangling figs" "go"
"Hanging vines" "grow"
"Palma de cera fills the air as I climb
And I push through"
"What else, what else?"

"What can you do when you are deeply, madly, truly in the moment?"
"Seize the moment, keep goin'"
"What can you do when you know who you wanna be is imperfect?
But I'll still be okay"
"Hey, everybody clear the way, woo"

"I'm comin' through with tabebuia" "she's comin' through with that boo-yeah"
"Making waves" "Making waves"
"Changing minds"
"You've changed mine"
"The way is clearer 'cause you're here, and well
I owe this all to you
What else can I do?"
"Show 'em what you can do"
"What else can I do?"
"There's nothing you can't do"
"What else can I do?"

When they stopped singing, they were lying on the floor of a room with no evidence of it ever being filled with pink and purple flowers.

"Aw man my skirt!" Mirabel complained with little seriousness, sitting up to see her skirt splattered with various colors of pollen.

"Sorry. You could make a new one?" Isabela apologized.

"Yeah I'm out of space with this one anyways" Mirabel shrugged before she burst out laughing.

Isabela laughed too as she sat up before her chuckles slowly turned to sobs.

Mirabel moved over to hug her sister.

"Mirabel? Isabela?" they heard Luisa enter the room.

The only sound for a moment was Isabelas sniffling as she whipped her tears.

"M woya ssibal?"

Mirabel burst out laughing harder than before at that.

"Did you just say 'what the fuck' in Korean!?" Mirabel yelled, her voice echoing.

Isabela started laughing too when she learned what was making Mirabel laugh.

It took a few minutes for Luisa to find them. When she did, her clothes were covered in many colors of pollen and her hair was undone.

"It's like a jungle in here" she remarked.

"Yeah!" Isabela exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

"Woah!" she shrieked when her feet gave out and she fell on her face.

"Ha!" Mirabel snorted.

Isabela scrambled to her feet as she began running around in excitement.

"What happened to her?" Luisa asked, noticing Isabelas messy cut hair and stained dress.

"A near death experience" Mirabel replied.

"A what!?" Luisa exclaimed.

"Yeah. Its only because of my ability to hear the doors did I manage to stop her from killing herself. And then something clicked in her brain and this happened" Mirabel explained as she stood up, gesturing to their surroundings at the end.

"Anyways I'm really tired so I'm gonna go to bed. Can you supervise Isabela so she doesn't try anything? Thanks" Mirabel continued before Luisa could respond.

She then left Luisa to watch Isabela cannonball into the small lake.

Chapter Text

Miguel was walking along the edge of town ditching a grocery trip when he spotted something odd. Dolores was sitting on the edge of the forest using a stick to pick something on the ground.

He walked over to see her trying to dig a small rock out of the dirt.

Her brown curly puffball of hair was tied in a bun, the strands escaping it framing the unreadable expression on her tan face. She wore a gold-ish yellow blouse, a red skirt stained with dirt on the back, light-ish red alpargatas and a red hairband with a bow on it.

"What's that?" Miguel asked, expecting her to answer with 'a rock'.

"Soapstone. It shows at some point this place experienced a lot of heat and pressure" Dolores replied.

"Huh. What does it do?" Miguel asked, crouching down to watch her.

He'd grown out his hair down to his chin, a yellow headband keeping it out of his face. Besides the headband he was wearing a white buttoned-up shirt, dark brown pants and dark blue alpargatas, all embroidered by his signature yellow hummingbirds and red hearts.

"It's used for casting metals. Like lead, pewter and silver" Dolores explained.

"Wow. Are you a stone nerd?" Miguel said sarcastically.

"I've been interested in rocks since I was four. This is going to be the one hundred and second rock in my collection" Dolores replied.

"Impressive" Miguel squeaked.

Dolores nodded.

"I do this almost every day. This rock is really stubborn. I've been working on it for four days" she explained.

"My mama has a cincel y martillo in our storage closet I think. I could go get it" Miguel replied.

Dolores finally looked up at him and nodded.

---

"Mama! Where is the cinzel e martelo?" Miguel burst into the living room where his mother was sitting on the couch drawing house layouts.

"Por que você precisa de um cinzel e um martelo? " Alice asked. 

Her long dark brown curls were braided into two over her shoulders. She wore a soft green blouse, a dark green skirt and black alpargatas, embroidered in herbs and red hearts.

"Estou ajudando o prima de Mirabel a cavar uma pedra no chão" Miguel explained.

Alice squinted her eyes in confusion before shaking her head.

"They're at the back of the storage closet on the second to bottom shelf" she spoke, pointing to the hallway with her pencil.

"Gracias Mama!" Miguel replied, rushing to the hallway.

---

"Here you go!" Miguel spoke, handing the supplies to Dolores.

"Gracias" Dolores whispered.

Miguel sat down as Dolores put down the stick and began using the chisel and hammer.

"My brothers dating your cousin" Miguel revealed.

"What?" Dolores asked, surprised.

"You didn't hear them when they decided to date?" Miguel queried, confused.

"I don't listen to everything all the time. I've been sitting here for..." 

She paused.

"...Three hours! Whos your brother? I don't really listen to you much. Which prima is he dating?" Dolores asked.

"Hes my twin brother, Lucas. He's dating Mirabel" Miguel replied.

"Miguel!" Antonio suddenly entered the conversation, walking over to the pair.

"Oh hi Tonito! You looking for Mirabel?" Miguel stood up, still leaning down to be closer to the toddlers eye level.

Antonio nodded.

His black colored hair was stuck in an afro atop his dark chocolate colored head sporting joyful brown eyes. He wore a yellow buttoned-up shirt, brown pants, dark red sandals and a bright red bandana scarf, all embroidered by various animals.

"Why are you out here alone?" Miguel asked.

Antonio pointed to Pepa nearby arguing with a villager.

"Mama raining 'cause she no want do chores" Antonio explained.

"Where Mirabel?" he asked.

Dolores paused for a second, the rock in front of her half dug out.

"Shes in Isabelas room. Singing?" Dolores replied, clearly confused.

"Wait you can hear inside the magic rooms?" Miguel queried.

"Oh yes. Though its fainter outside my room. When outside my room, the other rooms are faint while everything else is loud. When inside my room, the other rooms are loud while everything else is faint" Dolores explained.

...

"Okaaay, you're getting headphones" Miguel announced, quiet as he could.

---

The trio entered Casita, Dolores holding the chisel, hammer and the rock.

"Mirabel!" Antonio ran to his prima when she came down the stairs.

"Hi Tonito. I was just going to get a snack before I got changed and took a nap" Mirabel explained, picking up the 3-year-old.

"What happened to you?" Miguel asked, gesturing to Mirabels stained skirt.

"Isabela" Mirabel and Dolores said in unison.

"Miss Senorita Perfecta? How'd she do that? Whack you in the face with flowers?" Miguel remarked.

"I...actually don't know the plant she grew that caused this. Just that the pollens colored weird" Mirabel replied, lifting her leg so she could see the part that came up with it.

"So shes snapped out of Amkaes lessons?" Miguel asked.

"Yep!" Mirabel replied, walking into the dining room.

She put Antonio down on the dining table before she went into the kitchen.

"I've been wondering. What does Amkae mean?" Dolores asked.

"It means bitch" Miguel whispered.

Dolores burst out laughing, confusing Antonio.

"Y-You've been calling Abuela A-Alma a-a female dog for two years!?" Dolores laughed louder than any of them had heard, dropping everything in her hands.

"Ooh my God. My ears are ringing so hard right now" Dolores wheezed, now clutching her sides.

"What's happening here?" Alma asked, coming into the house.

"Buenas tardes Amkae" Dolores greeted before bursting out laughing even harder.

"Not you too" Alma mumbled while Miguel began chuckling.

"Hey. Get out of Casita. We do not need your presence contaminating the miracle" Alma spoke, turning her attention to Miguel.

"Hangmun" Miguel insulted.

"What does that mean?" Alma asked.

"I don't know. Its what my mama calls her mean uncle" Miguel replied, shrugged.

"Vou procurar o Lucas e a mamãe no mercado" Miguel continued, elbowing Alma in the arm hard as he walked past her out of Casita.

"You pirralho nojento!" Alma yelled after him, Dolores wincing mid-laugh.

"I think I'm gonna pass out" Dolores wheezed.

"Aw ttong!" Mirabel cried, running over to Dolores.

Alma gave a genuinely concerned look when her second-eldest granddaughter fainted.

"A jenjang" Mirabel muttered.

"Dolores?" Antonio whimpered.

"She's fine. She just got overwhelmed from too much sound. And laughing too hard" Mirabel replied.

"Super audição foi uma péssima ideia para presente" she mumbled under her breath as she brought Dolores to the living room couch.

"When she wakes up, tell her to get back to work" Alma spoke, kicking the rock on the floor out of Casita.

"The only reason I'm not cursing you out is because Tonitos here" Mirabel replied, walking back over once Dolores was lying on the couch.

"Oh wait! My boyfriends mom taught me plenty of words I can call you in front of Tonito" she continued.

"Wait your what-"

"Ssibal ssibalnyeon-a. Julieta eomma, Pepa imo, Bruno samchon-i pedeulohante chyeodabwaseo jeongmal dahaeng-iya. Neohante chyeomaj-eumyeon ne mos-saeng-gin eolgulcheoleom jonna hyungcheughage saeng-gyeoss-eul tenikka. Hal-abeojiga neo gat-eun meongcheonghan nomgwa gyeolhonhaessdaneun ge nollabda. Nyeon-a" Mirabel insulted, repeatedly poking the air like she was poking Alma in the chest.

Both Alma and Antonio were speechless at Mirabels words.

Before either of them could reply, Mirabel trotted up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door loud enough to wake Dolores.

Chapter Text

It was Friday dinner, the first for Dolores and Isabela. the dinner before was Pepa, Felix and Antonios first. Now the only Madrigals not there was the cool couple and Bruno.

The kids were eating together in the living room, having a very active conversation, while the adults ate at the table. There were some empty chairs meant for Dolores, Isabela and Luisa but they'd decided to eat in the living room with Camilo, Mirabel, the twins, Aaron and Antonio.

"I'd really like for Julieta and Agustin to be here" Pepa commented, looking at the empty seats.

"And Bruno" David added.

"We don't talk about Bru-"

"Aw cut the besteira Pepa. Dolores told us he's living in the walls. We're planning to get him out tomorrow and bring him here. Dolores is going to help" Elena explained.

The warm couple looked to the living room where Dolores gave them a thumbs up.

"Gracias" Pepa spoke, her cloud turning to look more like fog.

"Mama. Papa" Antonio spoke, approaching the table.

"Yes Antonio?" Felix asked.

He looked like an older copy of his son, same hairstyle, same flesh color and same eyes. He wore a yellow buttoned-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, brown overalls and red sandals.

"What's 'emotwonal abuse'?" the toddler asked.

"Where did you hear this word?" Pepa questioned.

"Prima Mirabel and hermano Cami are talking about tia Juli expewiencing it" Antonio explained, pointing towards the living room where they could see Luisa, Dolores and Isabela having conversation while Mirabel and Camilo talked about something else.

"Do you know who's emotionally abusing my sister?" Pepa asked, thundering as Felix picked Antonio up onto his lap.

"Your mother. Mirabel told us about it a few years ago. Shes making her stay up until two am cooking. Agustin has to apparently drag her to bed every night. Only for her to continue at six am. That's not healthy. If this continues, she may not see Mirabel reach her twenties" Alice explained.

Pepa abruptly stood up and walked all the way out of the house, her clouds thunder making Dolores cover her ears.

"Where's Mama going?" Antonio asked.

"To tell off our terrible excuse of a grandmother" Mirabel replied, walking past into the kitchen with her empty plate.

---

Bruno was sitting in his chair, thinking about recent events.

His black curls were longer than years before, his tan frame having thinned and his green eyes faded with age. He wore a green ruana, a dark red-ish brown shirt, dark brown pants and black sandals.

"So" he began, standing up out of his chair.

"Two months ago Luisa began getting tricked into taking daily breaks, then she figured it out and agreed with the daily breaks. Then a week later Mirabel, Luisa and Dolores teamed up to make sure Camilo somehow doesn't shape-shift at all on Saturdays. Then not even a month later Pepa was suddenly getting along with Mirabel. Next a week later Isabela started growing flowers only around Mama and Dolores laughed so hard she passed out. And yesterday Pepa came stomping into the dining room screaming at Mama for abusing her family. Is there anything I'm missing?" Bruno rambled, his question at the end targeted at a rat on the table.

"Yeah, you forgot about Mirabel dating my son" someone replied from the door.

Bruno practically jumped out of his skin when he heard that, spinning around to look at them.

Dolores was standing behind a woman about a decade younger than him whos hair was tied in a bounce of curls.

"Who are you?" he asked, pointing accusingly at the woman.

"Alice Santos. The mother of your sobrinas boyfriend. Also one of the people getting you out of here" the woman replied, shrugging as she stopped leaning against the doorframe.

"Abuela Amkaes near the other side of town. It's the perfect time" Dolores spoke up, smiling at that she'd called her grandmother.

---

Within an hour Bruno was sitting in a strangers home being given a cookie by none other than his nephew Camilo.

"Cami! Vamos!" the man running the shop called.

Camilo rushed away before Bruno could thank him.

"Bruno! Mi querido trillizo!" Pepa declared as she suddenly came into the room.

Before he could protest, he was hoisted up into a tight hug by his sister.

"Pepita! I can't- breathe" Bruno wheezed.

"Come! Vamos! I'll introduce you to the others" Pepa finally let him out of her lung squeezing hug, taking him by the wrist and dragging him into the bakery side of the building.

"Buenas tardes tío Bruno!" Camilo greeted, wearing an orange apron instead of his usual ruana.

"What is Camilo doing here?" Bruno asked.

"It's no shape-shift Saturday! So I'm helping tio David in the bakery" Camilo explained, kneading some bread dough.

"Who came up with this?" Bruno questioned.

"Bem-vindo de volta, tio Bruno!" Mirabel hugged him from behind before rushing to the door.

"Hola Mirabel" Bruno replied giving her a wave.

He noticed she'd switched out her usual heavily embroidered blouse and skirt for a soft cyan dress and light cyan apron, looking more like her mama than she already did.

"This is primo David" Pepa introduced the man using a bakers peel to put bread in the stove.

"Hola" David greeted.

"Out there are the twins Lucas and Miguel with David and Elenas son Aaron. Miguel's the one with hummingbirds and Lucas is the one with flowers" Pepa explained, pointing outside to the group of boys Mirabel approached.

"Wait since when did we have a primo?" Bruno asked, pointing to David.

"Oh no its just a little joke. Since Mirabel calls him tio, Elena tia and Aaron primo we've been calling each other cousin as a bit of light teasing sort of" Pepa brushed off his confusion with a wave of her hands.

"Ciao caro" a woman with black hair entered the bakery, kissed David on the cheek and left through the front door carrying a few bags.

"That was Elena" Pepa commented.

"So are these people family now?" Bruno asked.

"Yep! Your my tio now!" Aaron suddenly rushed in, his friends behind him, and hugged Bruno.

"Hey he's my tio!" Mirabel replied.

"No! He's my tio now. He's living here with my family, not yours" Aaron spoke, letting Bruno out of the hug.

Bruno decided to let the pair continue arguing while he went outside for fresh air.

He stepped outside to see Dolores sitting nearby trying to dig out a rock from the ground.

"What's that?" Bruno asked as he knelt down next to her, watching her chisel out the stone.

"Marble! The Encanto is crawling with metamorphic rocks. Soapstone, marble, slate, schist. The whole sort!" Dolores explained, not taking her eyes off the stone, apparently marble.

"Oh fascinating. What are metamorphic rocks?" Bruno asked.

"They're rocks that form from extreme heat and pressure. It seems like the forming of the mountains must've caused these rocks to form" Dolores replied.

"Neat. So question, why have you, Mirabel, Luisa, Pepa, Felix and Isabela been stopping Camilo from shape-shifting on Saturdays?" Bruno questioned.

"Oh Saturday is no shape-shift day" Pepa came into the conversation as she walked outside.

Dolores paused.

"I thought it was just to mess with him" Dolores admitted.

Pepa facepalmed.

"He's my little brother. Of course I'm going to mess with him" Dolores defended.

"Ay dios mío" Pepa muttered as she went back inside.

"Okay this was fun. I'm going to go back into Casitas walls now" Bruno spoke, standing up straight.

"No. Amkae Alma is back home" Dolores replied, grabbing his thin wrist as the edges of her mouth twitched upwards at 'Amkae'.

"Fine. I'll stay" Bruno sighed, sitting back down next to her.

Chapter Text

Mirabel woke up to the sun rising through the window.

She stood up, got dressed and came out of her room.

When she got downstairs to set the table, she was surprised at what she saw. Luisa was fully ready for the day and was cooking in the kitchen.

"Buenos dias hermana!" Luisa greeted.

"What are you doing?" Mirabel chuckled.

"I thought it would be a good idea to give Mama a break for once. So I got up early to make breakfast. Casitas helping me by keeping her door locked" Luisa explained, flipping an arepa.

Mirabel knew Casita had control within the first 4 feet beyond the doors so Mirabel knew Casita could lock the doors by flipping the tiles to push against them.

"I'll help you with the rest of the food once I set the table" Mirabel replied, giving a thumbs up.

---

"These arepas taste quite good today. You did a very good job Julieta" Alma complimented.

"Oh. Um. Yes, gracias" Julieta replied, a spark of confusion on her face.

Mirabel silently rolled her eyes across the table.

For the rest of breakfast Mirabel quietly sent death glares to Alma.

---

Two days later Mirabel entered the dining room to see her primo in the kitchen.

"Morning Mirabel!" Camilo greeted, his hands moving to make uncooked empanadas.

"Buenos dias Camilo" Mirabel replied, catching the plates as Casita slid them off the shelves.

As they individually worked, Mirabel began humming a soft melody.

"What you humming?" Camilo asked.

"Oh! Um. It's a song about flowers and doors on the wall. I don't know where it comes from but I just call it 'three little flowers' since its the most repetitive line. You want to hear it?" Mirabel explained.

"Sure" Camilo shrugged, continuing to make breakfast.

"Three little flowers, doors on the wall.

One little peony, door healing strands.
One little dandelion, door giving snow.
One little rose, door warning those.

Two little bluebells, loving all for long.

Three little flowers, doors on the wall.

One little lotus, door chaining hands.
One little gladiolus, door lifting lands.
One little lilac, dancing all alone.

Three little flowers, doors on the wall.

One little lily, door showing holes.
One little blossom, door changing eyes.
One little iris, door giving words"

Mirabel continued singing as Pepa and Felix came down.

"Marigold stay away, from my little flowers.
Poppy wilt away, but will stay.

Dear little flowers, don’t wilt away.
Stay alive and well, lilac will guide the way.

Nine little flowers, doors on the wall.

No te marchites, la amapola permanecerá"

"Where did you learn that song?" Pepa asked, Felix clapping next to her.

"Oh! I don't know. It just kind of popped into my head after my failed gift ceremony" Mirabel explained.

"Well its a lovely little song" Felix approved.

"Oh Camilo. I can help you with that" he turned his attention to his son.

"Gracias Papa" Camilo smiled, still folding empanadas into shape.

"Doors on the wall? Like our doors?" Pepa questioned, pointing behind her.

Mirabel paused.

"Huh" she squeaked.

---

"Your empanadas taste excellent today Mama" Isabela complimented.

"I agree Isabela" Alma nodded.

"Actually" Mirabel spoke up, getting everyone's attention from the opposite end of the table.

"Tio Felix and primo Camilo are the ones who made it" Mirabel explained.

"What?" Alma spoke, sounding unnecessarily mad.

"The foods amazing Papa" Dolores muttered.

"Why did they make breakfast? That's Julietas job" Alma spoke.

"Well maybe it shouldn't be" Mirabel growled.

"Her gift-"

"Her gift is healing. But it works less and less the more and more unhealthy she herself is! Your nonsense is not strengthening her gift, its destroying it" Mirabel explained as she stood up on her chair, slamming her foot on the table as a dangerous shade of gold fought against the hazel of her eyes.

Gasps sounded around the table, the loudest from the ones aware of her power.

"Stop lying Mirabel. Now get off the table before you damage this familys reputation more" Alma replied.

Mirabel calmed down as the material of her shoe left the wood of the table and both shoes met the tiles of the ground.

"I'm more powerful than you think Alma. The more you drift away from the magic, the closer I get to it" she spoke in a tone that sent a chill down all but Almas spine.

"Do you need some help Mirabel? You're speaking nonsense" the oldest 'Madrigal' replied.

"If anyone needs help its Isa. Someone needs to teach her not to put vines around her neck while standing on a chair" Mirabel responded seamlessly, picking up the last arepa from her plate.

All eyes went to the chlorokinetic as Mirabel began walking into town.

---

"God I forgot how insanely flexible you two are" Mirabel spoke, her arms crossed.

What was she talking about? Oh simple. Miguel was lying on his chest with his feet to his shoulders on the grass, his hands holding his ankles. Meanwhile Lucas was doing the splits, holding the foot going behind up near his shoulder blades with one hand while the other pressed against his thigh.

"Mirabel!" Camilo suddenly ran over shouting.

"What?" Mirabel asked, eyebrow raised as Aaron looked over from where he was practicing notes on his guitar.

"Tia Julieta just fainted!" Camilo exclaimed, pointing at Casita in the distance frantically.

"What happened exactly?" Mirabel queried, turning to fully face her twin.

"After you left everyone but Amkae refused to let Julieta cook or even enter the kitchen. Mama explained why and a few minutes later she fainted at the bottom of the stairs!" he explained.

"She's fine" Mirabel shrugged off his concerns after a few moments.

"What!? Your mama fainted! Why are you brushing this off so quickly!?" Aaron complained.

"It's just her body realizing she can finally fully rest for once. She'll be fine by tomorrow" Mirabel explained.