Outside the Encanto

Wrong and Right

The day Evita was found dead, the village immediately looked for the culprit. This was the first murder in the Encanto that had ever happened. The L/n's were the main suspect, along with poorer residents. The Encanto nearly broke into a civil war, for this was when they realized how separated they truly were.

A new court system was put in place. Señora Alma would be the permanent judge, with the Madrigals as jury, along with a select few citizens of the Encanto. Cases lasted years, with each person being found innocent.

The last trial to take place was Dario's, six years after the murder. Less people remembered the day, although the adult L/n's served as witness to his innocence. It looked like the case would be forever a mystery, although Evita's family pressed on to officiate charges.

Evita's mother, Gloria, was desperate. She was going to do anything to punish her daughters killer, even if it wasn't fair. She gave a bribe to several villagers to testify against Dario, which gave Alma enough evidence to convict him of murder.

His sentence was death.

You grinned, not quite knowing the mission, but knowing you will save the Encanto. You look to the three men in the room, and they look back at you, smiling. Papa nods to Tio Pablo, who swiftly stands and exits the room.

"Today, you've made us proud. You need to head to the Madrigal home and collect information. We could easily kill off the Madrigals, but I find that destroying their magic from the inside would only harm them emotionally. We could use physical harm, but our family are not murderers." Papa says, his voice turning hard. Pablo enters the room, along with the rest of the gifted members of your family.

"Y/n has accepted her mission. She is now officially a warrior, and will accompany us on future journeys." Papa announces.

The applause is tremendous, the screams and echos of delight seem endless. The twins hug someone invisible, while your elder brothers all chant your name. You're overcome with emotion, the feeling of pure happiness. The jubilant feeling in the air never seems to want to cease. Papa tells everyone to calm down, although his smile isn't encouraging anyone. Finally, the chaos dies down.

"Our miracle candle does not need theirs, and is instead powered by our decisions. When we do the right thing, the power continues. Tomorrow, we will take over the Encanto. Y/n, I want you to go downstairs and build a shelter." Papa instructs, so you stand. The family grins at you, giving you more silent congratulations. You smile back and wave goodbye, before racing downstairs.

You bump into Tia Sophia, who abruptly drops a basket filled with laundry. You both stumble around for a minute, before finally apologizing.

"Sorry amor, I'm so busy!" She frantics, picking up spilled clothes. You take a look at her, and realize she's sweating.

"You know, why don't you put that down for a minute? Papa asked me to build a quick shelter.. why don't you design it with me?" You suggest, thinking about her obsession with sewing.

"Aye, I'd love to, but I've got to much work to do." She reminds you, beginning to walk off.

You sigh, knowing you're fighting a lost cause. Your Tia looks back at you for a moment, before entering another room.

You thought you saw a thundering cloud above her head.

"No- hey! No no no no no!" You shout, banging your head on a doorframe in attempt to catch up to her. "Please Tia, you work so hard. Come have some fun!" You beg, taking her hand. The skin underneath is rough and cracking, you can feel it bending around your own hand.

"Amor.." she sighs, frowning. "You know what?" She slams down a piece of uniform, and turns back towards you. "Let's do this! I'm so tired of being.. tired!" She bursts, staring towards the sky.

You grin and stampede downstairs like wildebeests running from a predator. Tia Sophia lets out a cheer as you create a staircase downwards and carve out a massive space in the ground.

"There are.. twelve of us in total, so you should make twelve large rooms, each equipped with a small bathroom." Your Tia instructs as you obey her, moving around the earth and building what you hope will be the best shelter yet.

"Add some storage rooms! We'll add better things later, but for now let's decorate this kitchen.." She droned on, pointing and insisting on the perfect design, changing her mind once, twice, and again once more. You comply to everything she wishes and add a few designs yourself. You accidentally move a piece of rock above your heads, causing water to spill out over your heads.

"I'm sorry Tia!"

"I'm not.."

"What..?" You are cut off by a handful of mud splattering onto your face. You wipe the mud from your eyes and see Tia Sophia doubled over in laughter, her hands covered in the mud. You grit your teeth and scoop up a fistful of mud, which you chuck back at her.

"Did you just get mud in my hair?!" She screeches, before burying both of her arms directly into the mud, using her legs and arms to launch the mud onto you. You giggle, and the war continues. Mud spatters onto your dress, your face, your arms. Tia Sophia pushes you straight into the mud, but you grab onto her arms and manage to pull her down too.

You laugh, wrapping your arms around her, snuggling closer to your Tia, who can barely contain her laughing. An echo carries around the shelter, as the two of you begin howling and making noises to hear reflected back to you.

"Y/n! Tia! You've got to see this! You've got to see this!" Maria barges in, shouting. When she catches sight of you, she stops.

You both stand, and you move the mud off of you, instead creating a very incriminating sculpture of your Papa and Tio Pablo.

"Y/n, come on come on!" Maria tugs at your arm, and you grab onto Tia Sophia's hand before allowing Maria to lead you away. Up the stairs you went, giggling and saying silent goodbyes to the echo.

"Look!" Maria points out the window, where exotic plants are sprouting all over the village. You look up and see Mirabel and.. Isabella? They're both standing on the roof, gliding around with the plants.

Señora Alma seems to see them too, from the window you see villagers scurry out of her way while she storms through the crowd. You worry for the sisters, and race to get your running shoes. You pop them on quickly, and scamper out the door. You dodge the cactuses that are randomly sprouting, until it stops entirely.

Señora Alma must've reached the Casita.