Outside the Encanto

Crossroads

"Antonio!" You gasp, freezing in place.

"Y/n.." he sniffles, sobbing into his jaguar. His knees begin to shake, his cries grow louder.

"Toñito, I-"

"I saw what happened. I trust you." He says, lifting his head up. "Stop treating me like a kid. I have the right to know what's happening. Mama's going crazy, Abuelas always sad, Mirabel snapped and turned against us. What else has to happen before you let me know?"

Woah. You were not expecting that level of.. maturity. You'd been thinking so much about how the war has affected you, and didn't think about anyone else. The war must've aged him 10 years.

"Toñito, wars a difficult task. It affects us all differently. Your family is no different." You whisper, inching closer to him.

"But my family's perfect. We can handle anything." Antonio wails, each cry like a stab to the chest.

"Your family isn't perfect. None of us are. But you're right, your family can handle anything. And we can handle this, too. Together." You say, kneeling down in front of him. You put your hands on his arms, as he looks up at you, his eyes glistening with tears.

"I heard Abuela talking. You're going to fight tomorrow. What if I never see you again?" He asks, blinking furiously. Another round of tears race down his cheeks.

To this, you have no answer. You know many of the soldiers defending the Encanto won't return. Most of your family won't kill anyone, but Joshua, Eduardo, and your father are ruthless killing machines, and you can only hope that the ones who do die, go quick.

"Im going to make every excuse for why your family cannot go into battle. I'll fight to keep them here, as medics, messengers, cooks, strategists, anything but soldiers. And I'll protect whoever goes out there, no matter the personal cost." You promise, tears brimming in your eyes now too.

"But who's going to protect you?"

Damn. That stung, not in a sweet, loving way, but in a sinister, bitter feeling. Nobody was going to protect you. Nobody wanted to.

"Antonio. I'm the most skilled, well trained soldier on this side. Well, my brother, Andrés, surpasses me, but I'm close second." You resolve, trying not to make yourself sound threatening, but still like you can handle yourself.

"So Andrés will protect you?"

"We're family. We'll protect each other." You say, before slowly returning to a standing position. "I need to find Tia Julieta."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Antonio asks, looking behind you and at the fainted girl tied to a post.

"Yeah. Let's get Tia Julieta, okay?" You take Antonio's hand, and lead him out and away from Mirabels room. You snake back through the tunnels, which have become familiar to you now.

Julieta and Augustine are both chatting with Pepa and Felix, all with grins on their faces. You and Antonio head up to them, but when Pepa sees Antonio's state, her smile is immediately replaced with a frown.

"Toñito! What's wrong? Y/n, what happened to your head?" She asks, glaring at you.

"Mirabel snapped. She said she wanted to join forces with my father, and burn the Encanto. I couldn't just let her leave, so she attacked. I have her tied up in one of our weapons rooms." You explain, gaining a round of gasps from everyone.

"Mirabel is my daughter. She would never, ever try and-"

"It's true, Tio. I saw everything." Antonio pipes up, stopping Augustine in his tracks. Five pairs of eyes snap to him. "Mirabel hurt Y/n. She threw a helmet at her, and now she's bleeding!"

Your hand flies up to your temple, which has began to throb. You'd forgotten all about it until he'd mentioned it, but now you realize it's bleeding more excessively. Your hair is mopping up the bloodshed.

"Mirabel.. she hurt you?" Julieta breathes, gently putting your hair behind your ear, examining your injuries.

"It doesn't hurt that- ow, bad." You say, as Julieta presses her fingers around the freely bleeding would.

"Are you alright love?" Pepa asks, now also looking at your wound. You almost flinched, it's the first time Pepas ever took interest in you.

"I'm alright, I am, but Mirabels in there and might wake up soon. We've got to help her, I mean, you're her family, and I think she's angry with me." You remind them, gesturing for them to follow you.

After sneaking through the corridors, you find the room Mirabel is trapped in. She's awake now, trying to fight the constraints. She stops when her mother and father enter the room behind you.

"Mira! Oh sweetheart, are you alright?" Julieta rushes over to her daughter, stroking her ringlets.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Mirabel says, pulling away from her mother, although it's obvious she can't really move.

"What happened?" Julieta asks, even though she already knows the answer. Pepa and Felix glance at one another, before quickly scooping Antonio into their arms and exiting the room.

"This isn't fair! Nobody in this family has ever appreciated me! I know I don't have a gift, I've moved past that. But I don't deserve to be thought of as a burden!" Mirabel screams, causing Julieta to flinch. Augustine abruptly rushes over to her, kneeling down on her level.

"Do not talk to your mother like that! We've raised you better than that. You're not a burden, Mirabel. I've offered to talk to you about this on multiple occasions, you're the one pushing me away. Your Tio Felix and I know exactly what it's like, and we've accepted it. It's time you do too." Augustine scolds her, and you have to take a step back. You've never seen him get angry before, let alone lectured anyone.

"I.. I just want to be accepted. Even without all the gifts, I'm the outcast." Mirabel tears up, and begins smiling. Only, not gleeful smiles. The kind that wells up in a serious situation, where you can't help it, where your embarrassment overtakes your facial muscles.

Someone sighs from behind you, starling you to the point you jump. Bruno's weary eyes stare past yours, to the tightly bound, crying teenager on the ground.

"Everyone out. My niece and I need to speak. Alone." Bruno commands, no sign of the usual shyness. It's so strange, you obey without a question.

The couple rise, although are hesitant to move. Augustine leaves the room, his hand in Julieta's. She takes one step back, turning back to Bruno and Mirabel.

"Julie." Bruno says, raising an eyebrow at her.

The three of you exit, and Bruno slams the door. Nobody knows what to do, except stand there awkwardly.

A mouse runs across your feet.

A/n: I've got to get something off my chest. Lately I haven't been updating as much as I should, but I seriously can't think of what to write. Now, I KNOW what will happen in the story, in fact, I'll have written at least 100 chapters before the story ends. (Or so I think.)

However, I have little motivation for writing. I've hit other interests, and I've got several other story ideas I'd really like to write about.

In particular, I recently watched Sonic The Hedgehog 2, and I've got a really fun storyline I'd like to write for that film. Of course, if I began writing that, it might take away from production and publishing for this story.

I suppose what I'm asking, is what should I do? I don't need permission from anyone, and I know I can write whatever I want. But there are so many of you that have truly supported me throughout the journey of Outside the Encanto, so I just want to ask.

If I wrote another story, would you read it?

If I did write the story, would you be upset if this one slowed down?