Outside the Encanto

Behind the Scenes of War

Screams and roars of celebration ring out, the clapping and shouts giving off a sense of pride, joy, and trust.

You make eye contact with Cisco again, and he's shouting and clapping just the same as the rest of the audience. You begin to smile, feeling the rebellious atmosphere, absorbing it.

"Ten thousand percent in!" You shout, creating a new wave of the furious applause and shouts. The sound is deafening, and you have to cover your ears a few times. Someone throws a rose at you, others come to shake your hand.

Fish Lady takes you by the arm, leading you through the crowd and back into the tunnels, this time into a separate, smaller room, much like the war room in your own home. Too much like it.

"Okay, we've got the numbers, the ammo, and the territory." Fish Lady says, looking around to you and a few others around the table. You learn the names of a few, such as Catalina and Luis, twin brother and sister, both with the blondest hair you'd ever seen, almost white. Or Xavier, a short but fit man around Tio Pablo's age, whose two sons were recently released from prison, although they're not here. He refuses to give up their names, although you assume Andrés will know them. Not that you'd ask.

The most interesting, in your opinion, is a mute man, well, not even a man, he could barely pass for 14. He's got to be younger than you, although not by much. Everything has to be translated though his older sister, who can't seem to control her volume. She shouts unexpectedly, or barely mumbles answers. They're just called J and Liz.

"But what we don't have, is a battle plan, or someone to guide us through the war. That's where you come in, Y/n. I know you haven't actually been in battle, but you have a hundred times our knowledge plus one." The man you'd met earlier, apparently his name is Diego, looks at you with a sort of fascination in his eyes.

"You know nothing about war. You think it's just about numbers, about what you have. It's about what do you don't have." You laugh, not trying to be rude, but sometimes you've got to hit them with the facts.

"Y/n, we have everything except a plan." Xavier says, rolling his eyes.

"You have swords, and men, and territory. But you're not willing to die here, are you? Nobody here is willing to lose their life defending the Encanto, or any of the innocent people who live here." You begin raising your voice, gripping the table with both hands, staring at the gold patterns in the tablecloth.

"We're all willing to die, Y/n, but we can't do that without a plan." Diego says, standing, staring deep into your eyes like he expects to find treasure.

"No, you're not. I've seen the unwillingness to help others, when we ask, no wait, beg for someone, anyone, to help us defend a poor down, overtaken by dictators or military rule. Nobody wanted to help a poor, broken town. Why is now any different?" You shout, looking around the table.

Nobody moves, they all look down, spin on their chairs a bit. You know that they know you're right. The silence freezes your senses, your blood running cold.

J is poking at his sister, but she barely seems to notice. He's signing furiously, and eventually she signs back. He points to you and continues signing, you hate the fact you don't know what it means.

Liz sighs, then begins talking, way to loudly for the room. "You're right. This is no different. I've seen a hundred thousand people die, in my own Encanto. This place here is no different. My Encanto fell due to.. another reason. But we never tried to stop it." She shouts, although is remaining calm. J continues signing furiously.

"Now is only different if we make it different. We will raise moral, we will train, we will fight. But you have to stop blaming us. Please." Liz translates, and J looks content. You look into J's eyes, feeling your lip twitch slightly upward.

"Alright, alright. You're right! I'll come up with a battle plan, sure. But first we have to get our men ready for training. I want four hours a day of intense workout, and once we've got the majority in good shape, we can move on to sword basics." You plan, taking a piece of paper and writing it down.

"Four hours a day?" Catalina breathes, looking shocked. She's from the upper class, so you're not surprised she doesn't want to commit.

"Four hours is what she said." Luis scolds his sister, rolling his eyes. Catalina kicks him from under the table.

"Figure out time and dates where workout sessions can be done, but remember that at home training is just as important." You say, before standing. "I should go. The.. execution will most likely provoke a riot."

"Hey wait! You should say something to the crowd first. Get 'em riled up, cause they ain't gonna like this whole training thing you've got going on here." Xavier says, and everyone agrees.

You head back through the tunnels to the crowd, which surprisingly feels familiar to you. Almost as if the tunnels themselves were changing to your standard.

When Cisco sees you, he immediately rushes to give you a tight bear hug and never ending praise. You hug him back, shaking.

Fish Lady nudges you, and you pull away slowly, although regret it. You step up onto the podium, and the room goes into a dead hush.

All eyes were on you.