Encanto: Bruno Madrigal x Oc

Chapter 3: I know

The next morning, Emilia was outside with the family trying to enjoy the fresh morning air. Her mind was preoccupied though, with what Mirabel had said the night before about the candle almost going out. If what she said truly had happened, then something was terribly wrong. When Mirabel finally arrived for breakfast, Emilia got behind her in line to able to hear the conversation between her and Dolores.

From the small bits of information she was able to gather, Emilia now knew two things: That her youngest niece was still worried about the magic, and that somehow Luisa knew something. After getting herself some food, Emilia sat down in her seat. While having a light conversation with Pepa and Félix, Emilia discreetly observed as Mirabel kept trying to speak with Luisa about the magic, while the older sister kept avoiding the subject. Alma then attempted to capture everyone's attention in order to discuss an important matter.

Quickly noticing that Mirabel was distracted, Alma asked Casita to move Mirabel's seat closer to her near the head of the table; Mirabel was promptly moved and then Alma continued. Evidently, it was thought that a marriage between Isabela and a villager named Mariano would be good for the family. At this, Dolores mentioned that she knew Mariano wanted five children. These words slightly flustered Isabela, causing tiny flowers to appear in her hair. Overall, it did appear that Isabela approved of the idea. Emilia smiled at this news. Mariano was a good person; she had met him a couple of times.

When Emilia finally turned her attention back to Mirabel and Luisa, she was surprised to see that they both had already left. Emilia made a mental note to talk to Mirabel later about not only what had happened the previous night, but also how any of it related to Luisa's odd behaviour. If something was happening, Emilia needed to know and wanted to help. After breakfast, everyone was going to be occupied with their duties, so any questioning would have to wait until later that night before Mariano came over for dinner.

Coming home from a long day of fishing, Emilia was immediately determined to locate and question Mirabel. Thankfully, the search did not take long; her youngest niece was in the nursery. Emilia was about to make her presence known, when she heard Mirabel mumble something about Bruno. Why? Did he have something to do with the candle and the magic somehow? Is that why...? What if he was still.....?.......no......

Emilia immediately brushed off the thought, thinking the possibility unlikely; he had been gone for ten years, after all. Taking a small breath, she entered the nursery, quickly catching the attention of Mirabel. Running over to the older woman, Mirabel told her aunt that she was just the person she wanted to see. Emilia was then overwhelmed by a series of questions from the teenager about the extent of Bruno's abilities; questions she did not get a chance to answer. Pepa had at that moment made her way into the nursery in order to finish collecting Antonio's items.

Unfortunately, Pepa had already heard enough of the conversation, leading her to create a small rain cloud inside the room as a result. She reminded both Mirabel and Emilia not to talk about Bruno. Emilia promptly disagreed, claiming that Mirabel deserved to know. Noticing what was going on, Felíx then entered the nursery. He seemingly agreed with Emilia, suggesting that Mirabel needed to know about Bruno.

Then, not being able to get a single word in, Emilia grew frustrated as she then heard the many not-so-kind things everyone had to say about her husband. Words she had spent many years defending him against. She remembered when they were teens how, whenever Bruno seemed burdened by his gift, she would always reassure him that he was special, important, and that he should never care what others think or say about him.

Mirabel apparently also had enough of all the negativity, since Emilia, coming out of her thoughts, then noticed her niece slip away from the family and head towards the nursery once more. Quietly, she followed her niece, only to gasp in shock when she realized what Mirabel had in her possession. Finally noticing a presence behind her, Mirabel jumped in surprise. Realizing who it was, she grabbed her aunt's sleeve and led her closer to the item. The deep  green material brought back many memories for Emilia. However, any fond memories were quickly replaced with concern when she noticed what the premonition was of.

The image was clearly Mirabel, however depending on how it was held, a different outcome was depicted. One was Mirabel in front of an intact Casita, the other was in front of a ruined Casita. Two possible different outcomes? Was that possible? Emilia had many more questions. She and Mirabel were then suddenly joined by Augustín, which then caused her youngest niece to panic. Mirabel frantically explained to the two adults that she believed the magic was dying, Luisa was loosing her gift, and that she had snuck into Bruno's tower and found a premonition that seemed to regard the fate of the Casita and the magic. Both Emilia and Augustín stood like statues, simply staring at the image on the desk. Mirabel gently called out to her father and aunt, but was given no response by either of them.

The sound of Mariano's arrival a moment later brought them both back from the shock. Augustín quickly began placing the many pieces of the premonition into his pockets, immediately suggesting that the three of them would say nothing about this; it was important for them all to pretend that everything was normal so the dinner would go perfectly. Emilia agreed with his idea; this dinner was important, and afterwards they'd be free to figure out what to do. No one had to know....

A sudden sound immediately turned the group's attention to outside the room, where they could see a shocked Dolores. With a whisper, Dolores admitted that she knew.