Settled

CH. 2 Welcome to Family Madrigal

Camilo laughed in his sleeves hard, shifting himself to Isabela, joking. ''(Y/N)? Bet she's not nearly as beautiful as me; I'm little Miss Perfect, after all.''

''Camilo, quit the joke. It's rude to say that,'' scolded Felix. ''Fix your face; it's ridiculous.''

''Dinner's ready.'' called out Julieta, serving plenty of appetizing food on the dining table.

Dolores's body slightly inclined, receiving the sound of Alma because Camilo was about to take the seat next to the host. ''Sit anywhere but beside Abuela; the girl will be sitting next to her.''

When everyone was seated, the remaining members who hadn't met (Y/N) bombarded Alma, Dolores, and Julieta with questions.

''What does she look like?'' ''You'll see her soon.''

''How old is she?'' ''Is she staying for the night?''

''Enough with the questions; our guest is coming,'' said Abuela.

All eyes stared at the kitchen door frame; two figures slowly emerged into their sight. Mirabel walked in awkwardly ahead of a girl in (Your hair length), dressing in Dolores's old outfit: a white shirt with small golden waves trimmings, and a plain sienna brown color full skirt.

Camilo wowed in astonishment under his breath. ''Precioso. She's a true beauty.'' Though he spoke in a small volume that nobody else could hear, his gifted sister didn't miss that; Dolores gave a side glance, smirking at Hermano's compliments.

''Come, sit by my side, (Y/N),'' said Alma. ''Everyone, this is (Y/N). (Y/N), meet our family, the Madrigals.''

''Er...good evening. Thank you for letting me use the bathroom.'' (Y/N) gave a bashful wave as her eyes swung back and forth at all the family members. ''I mean...Nice to meet you, everyone.''

Felix and Agustin laughed, finding it funny when (Y/N) thanked them for using the bathroom as a greeting; while Pepa, Julieta and Isabela gave the nervous girl a comforting smile.

-

(Y/N)'s POV

''It's all right. Now let's eat, and they'll introduce themselves to you. The person sitting beside your immediate left is Julieta, my eldest daughter, and the rest are her family. The woman sitting across you is my middle child, Pepa, and her family by her right.

''Introduce yourselves, Madrigals,'' said Abuela.

Julieta turned to me, smiling warmly. ''I'm Julieta Madrigal. Mother of Mirabel.''

''Well, I'll just introduce myself again. I'm Mirabel,'' said the girl in green glasses. I had learned her name.

''I'm Luisa.'' A girl taller than everyone in the room spoke out. She had noticeable muscles on her shoulders and arms. She also braided her hair in a bun.

''My name is Isabela. Nice to meet you, (Y/N),'' said the girl with silky long black hair, smiling at me in the most alluring way.

Beautiful. She's a total goddess; if I were a guy or lesbian, I'd definitely have a crush on her.

''Agustin, father of these three lovely ladies. Husband of Julieta.'' said the man in a well-tailored navy blue suit.

Sitting across Agustin was a little boy. He looked like he was the youngest of the family. He waved a little before introducing himself. ''The name's Antonio.''

Beside Antonio was the tall girl I saw earlier with Abuela. ''Dolores Madrigal; pleased to meet you.'' Her voice was surprisingly soft and small. But why did she know my arrival that fast anyway? It seemed like she had predicted I would come, so she prepared the clothes for me to wear.

The boy sitting next to Dolores didn't introduce his name at once; instead, he watched me with his mouth hung open. Did I do something funny?

Everyone must have seen me shifting uncomfortably on my seat; they turned their head to the curly hair boy in a yellow poncho as Dolores nudged him. She airily snickered at his unintentional rudeness.

''Camilo. My name is Camilo,'' said the boy.

''He looked like an older version of Antonio,'' I thought.

''We're Felix and Pepa. Parents of these three kids,'' said the couple. ''Welcome to our house.''

I nodded my head as the greeting ended. ''Thank you for letting me in your beautiful house.''

Abuela smiled at me before her talk. ''(Y/N), I think we would all like to know what you encountered last week.''

Felt all the attention was now focused on me. I inhaled a deep breath, ''To begin with, I can't remember that much before gaining my consciousness in the woods; except for my name, and some fragments of memory that a pair of hands pushed me down from the emergency exit with a loud blast of explosions above my head shortly after. Then, I survived in the woods for days, finding a temporary place to stay and get out of the mountains.''

Pepa and Julieta's expressions went soft at my words. Abuela and the others listened with a pitying look on their face.

''What is your plan after you get out of the mountains?'' asked Felix.

I shrugged, ''Haven't thought of it. Maybe to a city and try to find out my identity.''

''But what if you can't live without knowing your identity?'' asked the boy in a yellow mantle. What's his name? Camilo? Right, he cocked his brow in an irritating way when he asked.

''Camilo, mind your attitude,'' warned Abuela; she placed a hand on my wrist, ''How about you stay in Casita, in our Encanto? You don't have to find a living or walk out the mountains in this matter.''

''Er, I-I think not. You have helped me a lot; I really appreciate your kind offer, but it's too mu-''

''Nonsense! You need a place to stay!'' exclaimed Pepa, glancing at her husband for affirmation, which Felix nodded his head frantically as approval.

Did I see it right? I thought I saw a rainbow form above her head. Poor me, I must be too exhausted to keep seeing things.

''What do you think, Madrigals?'' Abuela ignored my negligible protest, asking everyone straight away.

Julieta hold my shoulder as she agreed with the decision, ''I'd love to. She's just a little girl like my Mirabel. Can you remember your age?''

''I found this in my locket,'' I said, showing the picture taken on my birthday with the date on the back. ''If I calculate it right, I'm fifteen.''

''She's really in the same year as our Mijita!'' exclaimed Agustin in amazement.

''And our 'Milo.'' grinned Pepa. ''It's a miracle for you to enter our town! No outsider can be seen in Encanto for years!''

Abuela beamed, ''That's settled then. (Y/N) is now part of the Madrigals. You'll be sharing your room with Mirabel and Antonio. Don't worry, Tonito will move out next month if the ceremony turns out wondrously.''

Strange. Abuela side glanced at Mirabel for a split second. Moreover, what's the ceremony about?

''Don't worry, they will treat you like their own child, and I'll be your Abuela. The children will be your siblings, helping you in any possible circumstances. Now you're all free to go. Luisa, help (Y/N) carry a bed to her room,'' said Abuela. ''Everyone, raise your glass. La Familia Madrigal!''

Holy Moly, I found a place to stay and a family to live with.

A smile slowly crawled on my lips, feeling senses of genial, comfy, and—settled.

''Welcome to Family Madrigal, (Y/N).''