Portal to Encanto

Battle Plan

It's been a few weeks since the cat fight, and people have taken it quite well. Seems I've earned the villagers' respect, for they are a lot friendlier than usual. I haven't seen the gaggle of women since that day, but Dolores told me it's because they run when I'm nearby. Luisa and Leo have been getting along greatly, no need for intervention. We expect them to officially start dating soon.

Things with Bruno have been amazing too. Alma pretty much ordered me to move in to Bruno's room since we were tired messes when we tried sleeping separately. He's been so patient and caring, I fall harder every day. Today, Bruno is doing a few visions for people, so I'm with Isabela and Dolores in Isa's room, helping Dolores plan her and Mariano's wedding.

"Say, Tía Rose, when are you and Tío Bruno gonna get married?" Isabela asks. I blush and mumble that we'll get married when he asks me to marry him. "So if he asked you, you'd say yes?" She grins, leaning forward. I tell her I would and both of them squeal in delight. We start looking at different ribbons for Dolores's hair when Alma comes in.

"Ladies, family meeting in the courtyard now. It's very important." She tells us gravely. I feel a heavy weight sink in my stomach. We look at each other, then make our way to the courtyard. Pepa, Agustín and Bruno are already there, along with Mirabel, Mariano, Camilo and Riley. When I approach Bruno and ask what's going on, he just pulls me into his lap and buries his head into my chest. I hold him tightly, running my fingers through his hair as he clings to my waist.

"Bruno, what happened?" I ask him, worried.

"I don't wish to repeat it over and over. Wait for everyone to arrive." He strongly states, pressing his ear to my heart. I do my best to console him, the weight in my stomach getting heavier. It takes about half an hour, but eventually the whole family is in the courtyard.

"Bruno, everyone is here. Tell them what you saw." Alma tells him gently. He takes a few breaths, then has me stand up so he can get up. He starts telling us he was doing a reading for Mariano, who wanted to know how the wedding would go. What started as a pretty good reading suddenly went south. There was a bunch of men attacking villagers, and quickly taking over the town. Then two men walked up the the family, who was tied up and forced to the ground. Bruno shudders as he recalls the vision, then tells us it was Diogo and another man he didn't recognize. They then ordered the family killed, leaving only me, Riley and Bruno alive. He takes a shuddering breath, then pulls out the glass slab that was made.

It shows me on the ground, Diogo's foot on my back to keep me kneeled. My blood freezes when I see the man that has my chin in his hand, gripping it so tightly it looks like I can't close my mouth. Riley looks and let's out a fearful yelp. Leo fist clenches in my peripheral vision.

"Is that...?" Julieta trails off.

"Preston. The man who made my life hell for years. Who killed our parents and hurt Riley. He must have gotten with Diogo somehow. Diogo knows the way here. Those men must be mercinaries he's hiring to make sure he wins." I say as I start pacing back and forth. My brain is in Go Mode, thinking of a way to protect the town and the family.

"I thought we were in another world. How the hell did Preston get here?" Leo asks.

"Who cares how he got here!? The fact remains he's on his way! I will NOT let him hurt mi familia! Not again!" I yell, still pacing. Pepa stops me and hugs me tightly, snow covering us both.

"Bruno, this is what would happen if we were unaware, right?" Riley asks from Camilo's arms. Bruno confirms this and says if he had another vision, it would be different. "Since we know, we can stop that future from happening. Prepare. Get ready to fight." Riley adds.

"How? How do we fight a large group of armed men?" Mariano asks, protectively hugging Dolores.

"Not alone we don't. We need to tell the villagers. Every man willing and able to fight joins in." Felix adds. Pepa, Luisa and I look at Felix in unison.