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VALENTINA DIDN'T HAVE any idea where she was going or if she'd be able to find her way back home. She just kept walking, not knowing what she would stumble upon. The forest around the encanto grew thicker the farther she walked, and she had to duck every other step to avoid getting hit by branches.
Occasionally an animal passed by, one she recognized as from Antonio's room that managed to escape. She paused as one of the capybaras slowly trotted by and stopped to stare at her before moving on. Eventually her legs got tired and she sat down by a tree to rest.
To say Valentina didn't regret what she said was a lie. She didn't hate Abuela, she couldn't. She loved her like she loved the rest of her family, and no matter how big of an argument they had could change that.
As the day slowly transitioned to night, Valentina felt lost on what to do. She had never been in the mountains around the encanto, especially at night. She didn't know what animals lurked around in the dark, and she wasn't too keen on finding out.
Eventually she decided on climbing a tree to rest there, but she had never climbed a tree and didn't know where to start. "Okay," she breathed, setting her sights on the easiest tree to climb that she could see.
She finally found a tree that wasn't too tall and didn't look too flimsy. She took in a deep breath before securing her foot in a notch in the tree, hoisting herself up. She managed to grab hold of a decent sized branch, but she lacked in the upper body strength to actually lift herself up easily.
She was too busy with her fight with the tree that she didn't see that someone was below her until she fell to the ground after her hands slipped. The person shouted in shock, and she made of the rustle of leaves as they quickly backed up.
"Hello?" She shouted out, pushing herself off the ground. She dusted the dirt off her dress, squinting as she tried to see who she just scared.
"Valentina?"
She visibly relaxed when the voice called out, a voice she'd always recognize. Her dad stepped out behind the tree, still holding onto his bucket from the house. The look of relief on his face when he saw it was her quickly turned to concerns he remembered she just fell from a tree.
"Are you okay?" He asked immediately, rushing to make sure nothing was broken even though she was standing there just fine. "After the house fell and everything, I heard that they couldn't find you. Also I heard your fight with Abuela."
"You did?" She sighed.
"Everyone did," he answered.
"I tried to talk to her, but she does the same thing every time. Now look at where we are," She sighed in defeat, sitting down by the tree.
"Hey, you did great," Bruno encouraged, sitting down beside her. "You stood up to her, and you were really brave. Though, I do think that you running on the roof like that was stupid and dangerous." He scolded, doing his best to look as stern as possible but failing.
"Abuela said that you left because of me," Valentina breathed in, not wanting to meet his eyes. "She also said that my gift has been a curse to the family. Is – is that true?"
"No," Bruno answered immediately. "No, absolutely not. I left because I knew what people think of me, and I didn't want that to happen to you. I stayed behind because I love my family, and I love you. I wanted to be able to watch you grow up, but I wasn't ready to face them."
"I love you too," Valentine smiled which quickly turned into a grimace of pain as she went to move. It earned a look of deep concern from Bruno, who immediately began to panic. "I'm fine," she quickly excused as the pain subsided.
It didn't really persuade him much, but he chose not to push it. "So," he decided to change the subject. "Who was that boy you were with?" He asked.
"Oh, I met him at Antonio's gift ceremony. His names Emilio," She shrugged.
"Do you like him?" He asked, earning a glare from Valentina. "I'm just asking, because from what I've seen, he really likes you."
The two ended up just talking for the majority of the night until Valentina ended up falling asleep at one point. Bruno eventually dozed off too, only for a couple hours before he was woken up by the sunlight shining through the trees. He got up slowly as to not disturb Valentina, suddenly getting an idea for them to move through the mountains faster.
Valentina woke up to the sunlight glaring in her eyes, her back in pain from sleeping against a tree. She was covered by her fathers ruana, like he draped it over her as a makeshift blanket. She kept it wrapped around her as she shuffled around, trying to figure out where he went.
"Valentina!" She heard his voice in the distance, accompanied by what she assumed to be a horse galloping. He suddenly burst from the tree line on the back of the horse. He struggled to get the horse under control, not letting go of the reins. "What do you think?"
"Have you ever ridden a horse?" She asked warily.
"No," he answered, full of confidence. He held out his hand, pulling Valentina up onto the horse behind him. "Hold on."
She managed to get positioned on the horse the best she could considering she had never ridden one. "Are you sure about this?" She asked, cling to her father as he didn't answer and the horse began to run, picking up speed as they went through the mountains around the encanto.
