El orgullo de Madrigal (Encanto x Oc)

{{𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 8}}

~💚~

"Haaa come on..." Mirabel sighs .

As she says that she notices a green light moving on the ground... It's a shard of the vision being carried by a rat. There are dozens of rats, all of them carrying the shards from the dining room and racing up to the balcony. Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles as Mirabel pursues the wet rats along the upper walkway. But as she turns the corner they're gone. Then a noise... and she spots a single rat tail disappear through an opening under a large painting. Mirabel approaches the painting, studies it, then slowly pulls it open, revealing a passageway within the walls. Mirabel climbs into the secret passageway between the walls of the house to find the inside covered with cracks. A rat squeaks as it scurries past Mirabel's feet and away into the darkness but as the glowing shard retreats... the glow moves into the air. As Mirabel squints to get a better look, FLASH! A bolt of lightning illuminates... Bruno, who holds the shard. Mirabel and Bruno stare at each other for an electric second. Another flash and he turns and runs - his shadow streaking away down a distant corridor. Realizing this may be her only chance to understand Bruno's terrible vision, Mirabel races after him!

"Hey!" Mirabel races through the narrow corridors, struggling to catch up in the winding, twisting labyrinth.

Shafts of light peek through the interior of the house to illuminate them as they streak by. The rhythm of their feet creates a syncopated rhythm as they move faster and faster, sliding down unexpected drops and tight turns.

"Stop! Stop!" Mirabel calls as she recovers from slamming into a wall.

Mirabel is almost to Bruno, but he jumps a chasm and it looks too far for Mirabel to follow. As Bruno disappears down a distant corridor, Mirabel summons her courage and jumps nearly making it, but the floor below her gives way, and she falls, barely catching herself at the last second... only holding on by a finger. Below is a seemingly endless fall into darkness.

"No-no... Help! Help! Casita! Help me! Help me!" Mirabel panics and loses her grip before her hand is grabbed mid-air by Bruno.

His face comes into the light, and she sees he's not at all what she thought... he's small, timid... and straining.

"You're very sweaty," He breathes.

But before Mirabel can respond... the floor underneath Brunocollapses too, Mirabel grabs onto a loose board and watches Bruno. They are now both dangling from the pit. As Mirabellooks at her uncle, a rat pop from his cloak, she startles and accidentally drops him.

"Oh no!" She calls as Bruno screams.

But... there's a floor right beneath the two, and Bruno doesn't fall very far. Tio Bruno climbs up the wallboards as Mirabel helps him up. Bruno looks to Mirabel... a long pause before,

"Bye."

"What? No~ Hold on!" Mirabel hurries after Bruno and follows him through a strange"back of house".

Pipes, furniture, relics, evidence of the rooms on the other side, etc. As Mirabel tries to keep up, she sees that Bruno is extremely superstitious, avoids walking under the ladder, has all kinds of good luck charms around him, and avoids cracks.

"Wait, wait~ Ow- why did you take the vision? What does it mean! Is it why you came back or~"

"Knock, knock, knock. Knock on wood." Tio Bruno calls as Mirabel talks.

Then he crosses his fingers and holds his breath.

"Tio Bruno?" He passes another piece of wood.

"Knock, knock, knock. Knock on wood." Bruno uncrosses his fingers.