The Shapeshifter's Clues (Camilo Madrigal x Reader)

The Yellow Orchid

"Where were you?!" the strict, loud voice of your father greeted you at the red door of your new house. "It's been 3 hours and we haven't been able to start unpacking because we were too busy looking for you!"

His voice was filled with disappointment rather than anger. In your opinion, that was worse. You hated being a disappointment. "Where's mom and abuela?" You wondered if you had really seen her outside the Madrigal's window or if you had imagined it.

"Don't try to change the subject, young lady. Your mother and your abuela are talking in private in the far room. You are grounded. Go to your new room. It's the second door to the right."

Eh. He gave you the information you needed, anyway.

Your new room was....peach colored. On the wallpaper, the mini-couch, the bed sheets, even the carpet. You hated peach. This was going to be a bad time for you. Your favorite colors were any shade of blue and purple. Peach was so....peach.

You went and unpacked some of your possessions. A porcelain figure of a parrot. A family picture from when you were 4 years old. Socks with no pair. Some fake yellow flowers that your grandmother had given you. A silver necklace with a pendant of some stained glass art that your mother had given you for Navidad. More socks.

"This is hopeless! I hate it here! I want to go back home! With my friends, my cousins, my blue room and not this horrible peach nightmare!" Screaming into your pillow was very therapeutic.

Wait a second.

You looked back at the possessions you had just unpacked. One of them looked strangely familiar. And no, it wasn't the other pair to a sock.

It was the fake yellow flowers. They were the same kind as the one your abuela threw into the bushes with the letter near Casita not so long ago. Your grandmother had given you those.

Examining them more closely and grabbing El Guia para Principiantes de las Plantas, Flora, y Fauna (The Beginners Guide to Plants, Flora and Fauna), you correctly identified the yellow flowers as Cattleya trianae, the national flower of Colombia. It's so pretty, you thought. Like the same shade of yellow as Camilo's ruana. Why am I thinking about him?

 Your grandmother had also given you this book because according to her, 'es importante que una señorita tenga conocimiento de plantas por si se llega a extraviar en algun lado y no tenga idea que comer. Que harias en esa situacion? Que planta es segura para comer y cual no?' (it's important that a young lady have knowledge just in case she gets lost somewhere and has no idea what to eat. What would you do in that situation? What plant is safe to eat and which isn't?)

To which you had responded, "Like that would ever happen."

Your father had told you that your mother and grandmother were speaking 'privately' in the far room, or the one with the most privacy. He had also said you were grounded. He didn't say how long.

Tiptoeing outside in the hallway, you noticed that the far room had its door slightly open. Peeking inside, you saw no one. No one was talking. It was as empty as your love for this new home. Had your father lied to you? It seemed unlikely. He was the most loyal person to his family, so if your mother had told him that she wanted to talk in private with her mother, he wouldn't ask any questions.

You were suddenly agitated and taken out of your thoughts by an ever-so-quiet creak of a door next to you.