The Royal Enchantment {ON HOLD}

Chapter Fifteen

Isabela had not paid much attention when her husband requested his leave of absence from her company. It didn't occur to her about his excitement to leave until nearly twelve minutes after he left. Her appetite was lost halfway through her breakfast - this was noticed by her father who was left to clean up after everyone else.

"¿Te sientes bien, pequeña (Are you feeling alright, little one)?" Augustin whispered into his daughter's ear as he hung over her shoulder.

"No, papa. Lo siento... extraño (No, daddy. I feel... strange)."

"Are you enfermo (sick)? Come, come. Let's go find your mother so she can give you something to make you feel better."

"Papa, wait! I..."

Augustin furrowed his brows together, a confused expression shown on his face as he approached his eldest daughter who ushered him closely to whisper something. Upon sharing her troubles - somebody she knew she could confide in in the absence of her husband or mother - Augustin gasped in shock of what he'd heard. Upon hearing the first few symptoms he almost immediately distinguished what the issue was with his daughter.

She was pregnant.

A spontaneous feeling of jubilation enlivened the senior man as he couldn't help but throw his arms around his child's neck, squeezing so tightly as if he would lose her if he let go. Thoughts began to run through Augustin's mind in regard to how the rest of the family react. More importantly, how Javier would react. Isabela knew just the day before on her wedding day that something was off. But now that it was made clear, it all made perfect sense.

Augustin took his daughter's hand and escorted her back into the house to her room where he requested attendance from his wife so that she could look after their daughter. It came as a surprise that Bruno had come rushing towards them with a strange look in his eyes. They were filled with fear and anxiety of something he'd done and something he'd seen - something of extreme importance that one's life hung in the balance.

Julieta was no stranger to her brother's mood as she consoled with him as he confided in her. The times before Bruno had hidden away from his family, Julieta could recall as if it were yesterday when she would find him either in pain with a migraine or passed out somewhere after pushing himself during another one of his prophecy readings. 

"What's the matter hermano (brother)?" Julieta asked the curly-haired man who stumbled into her arms. 

Beads of sweat dangled off of Bruno's forehead as he met his dear sister's gaze and spoke so rapidly she could not understand a single word said. 

"I-It's Javier. He's in danger!" Bruno exerted, his breathing became close to wheezes. 

"What's wrong? Is he alright?" 

"No. Antonito and he go into the forest and in the forest there's... there's something out there. We need to go help them!" 

"Where? Where are they?!" 

A few voices sang out, questioning the fuss. Bruno proceeded to explain the grief he was in, spreading deep concern across the entire Madrigal family. The family members then looked to Dolores for help. They found that she was already attempting to locate Javier and Antonito. Once Dolores managed to pinpoint the general spot in where they were, she proclaimed this louder than usual before the family dashed off in haste to rescue Isabela's husband. 

Meanwhile, Javier and Antonito were in a standoff with a jaguar that prowled around them. The black-spotted animal stared at them with greedy, piercing yellow eyes. Its stomach growled as much as it did naturally, adding to the fear that struck the two Madrigal's. Antonito stared fearfully at the jaguar who addressed him with familiarity, whereas Javier simply had to rely on the child's communication with the animal and his interpretation of its body movement. 

"You seem surprised to see me, Antonito. I can't imagine why. And I see you've brought a friend. A much more scrumptious snack for Stefano." The jaguar growled lowly with a twisted grin. 

Antonito shivered in fear, all the while Javier simply continued to shield the boy with his body no matter where the jaguar prowled. 

"What's he saying?" Javier whispered to the little boy behind him. 

"He-He want to eat us, Javi." Antonito shivered.

The jaguar, Stefano, chuckled lowly. "You knew this day would come, Antonio. Now, I shall begin... the hunt!"

As soon as Javier recognised the motion to spring at them, he grabbed Antonito and threw them both out of the jaguar's trajectory before pushing him away, ushering him to flee. With no means of taunting his prey, Stefano the jaguar growled menacingly and bowed down a bit when Javier kicked dirt at its face, temporarily blinding it so that he could make tracks.

"Run, run, while you can; I will catch you and devour your little man." Stefano laughed heartily. He roared as he sprinted after the taller, older male who posed as the bigger threat.

When Javier found that the orange and black-spotted jaguar was hot on his tail, he ran even harder, puffing quickly as he did so whilst desperately scanning the field ahead of him for something to use against Stefano. Fortunately, Antonio had managed to be rescued by a friendly, cuddly Andean bear which perched them in a tree. They heard and spotted Javier sprint past with Stefano hot on his tail, unknowingly approaching the rapids. 

Thunder rolled overhead, dark clouds completely blocked out the sun as rain began to pour. Skidding along the dirt, Javier wobbled as he struggled to maintain his footing. A jaguar roar made his heart drop into his chest when he looked over his shoulder and spotted the carnivore fly from the bushes at him, tackling him off the edge into the water.

Both Javier and the jaguar struggled to remain surfaced for longer than two seconds as they were constantly pulled underwater. Javier's life flashed before his eyes as he used what energy he had left to fight to have his mouth above water. Eventually, he gave up and fainted, his sight gone black, wishing that he had more time to spend with his wife and unborn child.

The Madrigal's rode up along the path to where Dolores last pinpointed the location of Javier and Antonito. As they wandered into the forest, they all called their names, hoping for a response - if only they knew just how late they were. Isabela was still back at the casa, resting while the rest of her family were away searching for her husband and little Antonito. When Félix and Pepá were reunited with their son, they were relieved. 

"Antonito, where's Javier?" Mirabel pressed. 

"In the rapids!" The boy exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the stream. 

Their hearts dropped in their chest as they all crook their heads in the direction Antonito pointed before jogging over to peek at the rapids. After fearing for Javier's life, realisation dawned on them about how Isabela would reaction.