Over the Mountains (an Encanto story)

Chapter 24. Story of the last witch

It only happened a few years ago. I was still living in my hometown. It wasn't even a town, to be honest; it was just a community. We were all living by the same ideologys, the same beliefs. You could say we had the same religion, but we never called it that.

At the time, Abuelita was teaching me witchcraft. I was learning to be a priestess myself. It consisted of knowing some basic spells, healing, and potion-making. You know, what you read in the books.

She was the head priestess of the community, so basically the leader. She was a powerful witch; she could do things no one could do after her. Some said she was capable of creating miracels as well.

It all started with stupid love. He was a sweet boy. Handsome, smart, and talented in many things. But he was way too into things he shouldn't have been at our age. Long story short, I got pregnant. But when I told him, he backed down. I couldn't tell anyone else.

I was alone.

It was forbidden for a priestess pupil to have any romantic relationships. It was okay to marry or have kids, but only after the inauguration ceremony. I was pretty much scruwed. To my luck, the clothes I had to wear were pretty big, so I was able to hide my pregnancy, but I knew that one day I would have to come clear.

I was already getting close to my inauguration ceremony, maybe two weeks away, when my water broke. I ran away to an old treehouse in the forest, so nobody could see me.

And my beautiful baby girl was born.

At first, I thought the gods wanted to punish me for being weak, for giving in to him. I thought mi hija was a way to tell me that I'm not supposed to be a priestess.

Oh, dear Mother Earth, how wrong I was.

When I got back to the town... it was all on fire. Soldiers were running through, setting more fire. My newly earned motherly senses told me to run back where I came from, to protect my child, even with my own life if necessary. I could only think of saving her and no one else.

When we got back in the morning, the fire finally setteled down, people all gone. Both in the good and the bad ways.

It was dead silence...

I was going through the town, searching for survivors, but to no avail. I only found the bodies of my family, my friends, and everyone else.

I thought for a moment that it was all because I broke the rules of my role in the community.

But as I looked down to my arms, at mi hija, I realized she was born to make me leave so I could survive. So I could still do something good in life.

I went to the temple to pray for my lost loved ones, but I found a box surrounded by marigolds. As I opened it, I found a beautiful green veil. As I looked around the room, I noticed that only the marigolds survived the fire out of all the flowers.

As I looked up at the altarpiece, I just knew. I had all the signs I needed. My name is Muerte. Emmanuela de la Muerte.

Offically, I never became a priestress, so in some ways, a new name is informal, but I just felt it. I just knew it was meant to be.

I searched through the town for some things I could still use. In the end, I found Wind and Spirit. They are both shire horses from Europe. I also found two dogs, mi tía's corgi, Elizabeth, and Fauna, a German shepherd, who was completely unknown to me, but she was friendly, so I took her as well. And not too long into my search, the caravan. It was a bit rundown since it hadn't been used in a while, but it was still in great condition.

I still collected a few things that were in usable condition and left. And ever since, we have wondered around.

Saddly, they realized that someone got away and started to come after us. As you can see, I got face to face a lot of time with them. But they have no idea about Leilah. And I will protect her from anything.

Like I said, „I take any curse if she gets out alive".

Mariposa was shocked by the story. How sad, and yet, such a happy smile! She couldn't stop herself from tearing up. She looked down at the fire, which made her remember the feeling of leaving her home. But unlike Emmanuela, she left something there. She wondered for a second, do they miss her?

- Mirabel... – she mumbled, almost wispering under her nose.

- What? – Emmanuela didn't understand.

- My real name is Mirabel. – she looked down in shame. How could she feel so uncomfortable? Her parents gave her this name. She should be proud!

- Like miracel? – Emmanuela asked with a calm smile.

- Mi...miracel? – she just noticed the reference in her name. The only one without a miracel. – How ironic... – she said quietly, now crying her eyes out.

- Mariposa! – Emmanuela jumped up, worried.

- It's okay. I just... Just... – Mariposa jumped into Emmanuela's arms, hugging her. It was the first time she let her emotions out.

If you asked either of them, neither Emmanuela nor Mariposa could tell why she stayed with them. It just kind of happened. They all enjoyed each other's company.

Leilah found the second parent figure she needed in Mariposa. She wrote songs, books, and fairy tales just for her, making her feel as special as she always wanted to feel.

When Leilah couldn't learn some basic spells her madre could learn without any effort, Mariposa recognized herself in her. They taught her to do so many things that she could never feel like she wasn't special enough. She was talented in many things: music, sewing, potion-making, and healing.

In Mariposa's and Emmanuela's eyes, she was the most special of all.