Blue Flames and Black Candles

Ask and You Shall Receive... 10 Years Late

Mirabel listened intently around the corner from the kitchen. Abuela was inside discussing with her mama and papa about the spectacle she made during Antonio's party. She had seen cracks radiating up towards the miracle candle. She had been trying to help! Of course Abuela wasn't impressed with anything she did, ever!

"Mirabel is out of control!" Abuela's raised voice echoed through the empty foyer. "Please, Julieta! We should send her somewhere else, to live with one of the townspeople or arrange a marriage!"

"Mama! She's my daughter! Simply because she doesn't have a gift, does not mean I will throw her away!"

"Julieta, she ruined Antonio's big day!"

"We won't sell our daughter to some stranger as if she were cattle!" Her dad snapped back at Abuela.

Mirabel was done listening as the argument raged on. She slipped out of the front door while ignoring Casita's attempts to stop her. She breathed out a sigh as she trudged into the woods surrounding the village. She had never been afraid of the dark or the animals that roamed in the woods. No, her greatest fear was her family growing tired of her. Of her family deciding to get rid of her and forget, just like they did with Tio Bruno.

A small light near the ground caught her attention. The light was a silvery blue that hovered above the ground a few feet away. When she took a step towards the glowing ball, it moved too. It came to her that she was meant to follow the ball to something, her body was screaming at her to go with it.

Everything blanked out as she followed the ball of light, focused solely on reaching the intended destination. She wasn't sure how long it was before the ball stopped moving forward with her but her feet ached and there was a gnawing pain in her side. Stepping through one last bush that seemed intent on snagging at her dress, which had many rips and tears from the journey, and seeing a small empty cottage.

The cottage was gorgeous, but clearly abandoned. It was made of dark wood with a teal tiled roof, overgrown flower pots hung on every window sill, and the small cobbled path had weeds peeking through the cracks. The door, painted a dark ocean blue, and the windows had hanging curtains, also blue. Whoever had originally lived here seemed to really like the color blue.

She hesitated as she walked to the front door. What if someone still lived inside and was merely sleeping? It was late after all! The tugging sensation from before with the ball of light had returned though far more powerful. Finally, she grabbed the golden handle and twisted it while pushing the door open.

Inside the house was pitch black, she stubbed her toe on something large while fumbling in the dark for a lantern or candle. She finally found a tall candle on a counter and after some more digging, found matches in a drawer. With unsteady hands, Mirabel lit the candle.

Bright blue light exploded into existence within the cottage. The black candle she had lit had a lovely blue aura swimming around it as all the candles lit themselves with the same blue flame. The blue aura of the candle suddenly struck out at Mirabel before she could react. Soft blue lines created a web around her as something in her chest began to burn. The web sank into her skin, the burning stopped, and every flame burned brightly as she caught her breath leaning against a dining table.

"What was that?" Mirabel's voice sounded different to her, it was richer and slightly deeper than before. Her eyes itched slightly as she stumbled to a mirror hanging on the wall near the door. Her appearance from before had changed minutely, her tattered dress repaired and the small scratches from the underbrush she waded through had disappeared. What caught her attention the most was her eyes. Her pretty brown eyes that she had inherited from her parents had a bright blue ring around her pupils and a deep red ring around the blue.

She collapsed into one of the chairs around the table, there were four in total, with her head in her hands. Hysterical laughter bubbled up in her throat as she sat, re-evaluating her life and decisions. She still had no idea what had happened! Though now she knew for a fact no one had lived here for a very long time. Just as she knew that there were three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a parlor within the house. How she knew this, she really didn't want to think about.

The thought of leaving and never returning had popped up, but was quickly dismissed as an uneasy feeling washed over her. This was her cottage now, she would take care of it. It was far too late to attempt to walk back to Casita now. She walked to the door and locked it before testing to make sure the door would stay closed. After that, she grabbed the black candle as she passed before making her way to the second bedroom, the first being the largest and third being the smallest.

She set the candle in a small alcove by the wardrobe before crawling into the large bed in the corner of the room. Her eyes grew heavy as she stared at the ceiling so different from the nursery's in Casita. The house itself seemed to be singing her a lullaby as she closed her eyes and let sleep take over.

She was back in Casita! Though the house didn't seem as cozy as normal, it almost felt cold and foreign. The house guided her to one of the pictures on the walls, a picture that opened to reveal a hollowed out passage. She walked through the passageway, following her instincts, and ended up in a tiny room that was adjacent to the dining room. Inside sat a man with curly brown hair wearing a green rauna, brown pants, a shirt and sandals. She recognized the man from family pictures: Her Tio Bruno.

He was pacing and muttering to himself, looking horrified as a conversation filtered in. Someone was sobbing in the dining room while two other voices attempted to console the first. Two more still more yelling: one blaming the other for something and the other defending themself. It took her a second to realize who the people talking were. Her mother was crying while Tia Pepa and Tio Felix tried to calm her down, Papa and Abuela were arguing. Everyone was upset because of her disappearance!

Tio Bruno finally stopped pacing. He took a deep breath before walking through the passage she had come in through. She followed him as he exited the passage and climbed out of a window. He raced through the shadows of the village until he came to a small area covered in sand. He began to gather different things: twigs, leaves, some moss, and of course sand.

He set up his gatherings in an almost ritualistic manner, the leaves, twigs, and moss creating three piles as he made a circle of sand around himself and the piles. He then grabbed a match from a pocket sewn into the lining of his rauna. Striking the match against a nearby rock, he lit the piles and took a deep breath. The sand started to float and encase him as she stepped into the sand circle.

Bruno's eyes began to glow an acidic green as images formed in the swirling sand. The images showed her leaving Casita and walking into the woods. What she saw as a ball of light appeared as a small bird-like creature as it led her to the cottage. She watched herself walk in and find the candle. The expected blinding light was also different. Blue and red flames swirled around her body before the black candle's magic settled into her skin. The images shifted to show where she was standing, looking at Bruno curiously.

"It's time to wake up," Tio Bruno said, looking straight at where she stood. A dizzying feeling of the ground shifting out from under her caused her to bolt upright in the bed of the second bedroom of the little cottage. Sunlight filtered in through the drawn curtains and the black candle's blue flame stood tall as Mirabel's breathing heaved.

She couldn't help it as her brain went into full analyzing mode; she knew, somehow, that she had received a gift from the black candle the night before. Something to do with fire, that much was obvious, but it clearly wasn't like her family's miracle. She had no idea how to control the flames, but every other Madrigal knew instantly what their gift was and how to somewhat control it or at least trigger it. She should go back to Casita today, but after checking in she would sneak off to try to trigger her new gift.