𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘶 | 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗹

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 2

Encanto, Colombia
1907

It had already been a few weeks since Elena's first encounter with the triplets and it had been nothing but amazing. Everyday she would wake up, eat breakfast, and go out into the village to play with all three of them. Julieta enjoyed sharing her food with Elena and Pepa enjoyed her company whenever she had a cloud. Bruno, on the other hand, was still quite too shy to be around Elena. At least, alone. He'd wave at her from afar or give her a soft smile though and that's all she needed in order to consider him her friend. That day has been no different. She was dancing and singing with the girls enjoying their time together when she saw Bruno in the distance with Alma, his mother, who was talking to Elena's mother. He waved at her shyly before looking away to concentrate on whatever his mother was talking about and Elena smiled before the girls pulled her back into reality by grabbing her hands and spinning together. They all fell down and began to laugh,

"Elena!" Pepa shouted to her, a little too excited as adrenaline was probably still surging through her tiny body. "Mama said you can come over to see our rooms! Isn't that wonderful? Please come over, please!" She begged to her as Elena smiled happily and stood up, nodding viciously. "Of course, come with me!" She grabbed both girls by the hand and began to skip to their mothers who were still chatting, smiling and laughing together as they shopped around and helped other locals.

The town was even more lively as ever as newcomers began to move into the village. The streets were filled with music, dancing bodies, and many delicious different foods which Elena just had to try. Elena's mother waved at the oncoming children as they skipped along.

"Mama! Can I please....can I please go over to Pepa and Julieta's home to play?" She chirped happily as she panted trying to catch her breath. Her mother looked over to Alma, who had smiled and nodded in response to Elena 's question. Her mother then smiled and agreed. "Be good though and come home before the sun sets, mi novia" she kissed the top of Elena's head and they were off. The girls ran towards the casita whom opened the door for them and greeted them with scattered tiles. The girls laughed and said hello to the house before dragging Elena all around to explore every single inch of Casa Madrigal. Each girls room was just as unique as themselves, and absolutely humongous. Each room seemed to be just as big as the village itself and Elena admired each one.

"That one up there is Bruno's. I'm sure when he gets home with mama, he'd be happy to show you!" Julieta pointed out as Elena examined the printing on the door which seemed to be Bruno with an hourglass. It was very unique in her opinion. "What are you doing?" A voice echoed behind them. All three of them jumped and turned around to a snacking Bruno. "Elena wanted to see your room, could you show her please please please?" Julieta asked her brother as Bruno just stared at her and then to Elena and then back to Julieta and then back to Mia. He stared at Elena for a few seconds longer before nodding his head and heading up the stares to his door, which he opened and let them walk in. Pepa and Julieta cringed at the sand and stairs whilst Elena admired it all. "Your room really does have a lot of stairs" Elena glanced over to Bruno who was caught off guard and nearly choked on his food. He gave a nervous chuckle and nodded. "Mhm, Julieta and Pepa despise it and mother won't even come in here" he looked over to Elena who just smiled softly in his direction.

"I like it"

Years went by where the triplets and Elena would go on adventures and help around the town. Bruno finally began to feel comfortable and loved being around her as much as she loved being around him. Everyday they would hangout and everyday they all developed a stronger and stronger bond together, Elena even beginning to call Alma her tia. The triplets would be given duties throughout the days whilst Elena, who didn't have a gift, would help out her friends as much as possible. And although the years went by and nothing changed, they were okay with that as they were all together. And together they certainly were.

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Summer 1916

"Bruno! Wait for us at least! You don't even know where you're going, idiota!" A now 15 year old Elena shouted as her friend ran way up ahead the trail without them. Pepa and Julieta giggled as they watched their brother stop, turn around and nervously chuckle as he apologized and his face flushed pink. "Hey, at least he listened this time. Maybe he learned his lesson from last time, getting lost must've scarred him or something." Julieta and Elena laughed as Pepa poked fun at her brother who got even more flustered and told her to shut her mouth. They laughed again as they caught up with Bruno and continued down the trail to their favourite spot, a small river perfect for swimming and having a wonderful picnic. Elena nudged Bruno with her elbow. "Race ya there" she said as she ran off, leaving a confused Bruno in her dust. "You just yelled at me for running ahead!" An annoyed Bruno chased after her as Pepa and Julieta continued to walk at their own pace, shaking their heads as they continued on with a previous conversation.

It wasn't long before Bruno caught up with her and grabbed hold of her bag to yank her back, giving him the perfect opportunity to run ahead of her. "Playing dirty, Madrigal?!" She grinned and tried her best to catch up to him. A few minutes more of running and occasionally abusing one another led them to the river. They both panted and gulped, trying to get their oxygen back as Bruno chuckled. "Pretty sure I won" in which he got a slight smack on his arm from an annoyed and still panting Elena.

Staring off into the water, Elena sat on the rocks on the shore of the river. She was trying to paint something but it just wasn't coming clear to her in her head. Bruno then popped his head out of the water, scaring Elena as she nearly dropped her stuff. She scolded him for a moment while he laughed before calming down and staring down at him in the water. "Can I help you?" She asked, as she brought her knees to her chest, hugging them. Bruno sat up in the shallow water and looked towards her, shrugging. "Why not take a break? Seems that painting is getting to you. We're here to have fun, not stress out, right?" She bit her lip and smiled at him with annoyance as she rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say. This painting has to be perfect, you know me." She shook her head and pushed his forehead slightly back, sending him back into the water. "Sure, sure" he said before standing up, towering over her. She looked up to him, making eye contact and growing scared. "Bruno, don't even think about it. Please, I beg of you."

He picked her up as she began to squirm and scream. He laughed and held her above the water. "Come on, have some fun! Promise me you won't worry about that painting for the rest of the day."
"You're insane! Put me down Madrigal. Please! I'm still in my clothes!". Bruno rolled his eyes. "One more chance, Elena!" As he began to lower her into the water.

"Okay! Okay! I promise! I promise!" She clung onto him as he grinned. "Good." He replied as he then dropped himself into the water, taking her down with him. Julieta and Pepa laughed in the distance, having watched it all from their picnic blanket. Elena quickly jumped out of the water and sat on the ground, taking down her hair from its bun to try and dry it. Bruno shook his head to dry his hair and sat in front of her, smirking as her cheeks flushed red with annoyance. However, she couldn't help herself from smiling. "See? That was fun. Look at that beautiful smile!" He poked at her as his wet hair covered his eyes.

"Cállate Madrigal"

word count: 1436