Beautiful Bruises ~ Camilo Madrigal x Reader

History

"I'm assuming we won't have to do the same to you?"

Your heart pounded in your chest, the rivers of blood flowing through your veins freezing. The two boys were dead. Whoever was behind you had killed them. You weren't going down without a fight.

You spun suddenly, thrusting your hands in front of you to prepare for a fight. But the power in your muscles faded as quickly as it had appeared, your adrenaline disappearing along with it.

There had to be at least 20 people standing in front of you, bows armed with arrows and strings held taught, ready to pierce your heart at any moment. In front of them all stood a powerful looking woman, her pure white hair braided into an impossibly tight coil and spun into a bun on the back of her head. Despite her pale hair, she couldn't have been much older than 30, and had pale skin the color of shadowed snow.

She looked nothing like how you expected her to look - somehow, you thought the whole group would look more like your mother, but they all had different appearances, many exotically unique.

"You are your mother's daughter." The words sounded ominous coming from her mouth, and her pale gray eyes bored into your soul, two flakes of ash observing your every move. "I remember her. She was powerful. But she wanted things she couldn't have."

"I'm not like her," you said defensively. "I never will be."

The woman raised an eyebrow, her perfect forehead wrinkling.

"Only time will tell."

"Heal my friends," you said, remembering the horrifying scene you had blocked out of your memories. "They mean no harm. You can help them, right?"

You were afraid to turn your back - mainly because you didn't want to be shot, but also because you were afraid of what you would see.

Blood. Pooling out of their chests. A new nightmare for Lucía to relive every day - picturing the love of her life bleeding out in a field, just like what had nearly happened to her family.

And it was all because of CJ.

Everyone looked at each other, hints of smiles tugging at their lips. But nobody grinned, laughed, even so much as shifted. 

Except the woman, who stepped forward and held out her hand, which you reluctantly accepted.

"You may call me Myra. It's nice to finally meet you, (Y/N)," she said. Your eyes widened, but before you could ask how she knew your name, a string on a bow snapped. You turned toward the noise, confused, and watched as an arrow buried itself in your chest.

"Don't panic," Myra said as you stared at the wooden shaft sticking out of your chest. The world spun, and her voice turned lilted and echoey. "Just let it take you."

—————————————————————————

After an eternity spent in space, floating in the endless dark, a familiar face approached you, snow-white hair and skin glowing unnaturally even in the darkness.

"Welcome," she said softly, her clear, even voice cutting through the silence. "I know that you're wondering what's happening at home. I can sense the disease on you. Your mother must have passed it on to a friend of yours before she died, hmm?"

"Mirabel." It took you a moment to realize the voice was yours, the warbled noise unnatural and wobbly in the strange environment. "She started acting strange first."

Myra nodded.

"Allow me to explain. Anyone in our tribe has a unique ability, passed down from generation to generation. As well as that power, we have the gift - or, as some prefer to call it, curse - of being able to cause seven people great pain after our death. This was curated and carefully designed by our leader thousands of years ago, and it once wreaked havoc. It has since been deemed illegal, but a few rebels have ignored these new rules. Rebels such as your mother. The only way to reverse this great pain is to gather the blood of everyone involved and mix it. Otherwise... you will likely eventually die."

You nodded, mind spinning, and she continued.

"It is passed on from person to person by physical contact, and everyone experiences a different sort of suffering. You may know these as the seven deadly sins - greed, gluttony, pride, sloth, wrath, envy, and, of course, lust. But while our leader was in the process of creating this power, he decided that lust was not fitting for a good punishment - so he switched things up, deeming that, rather, the person who is unlucky enough to receive the final sin will forget who they are. Utterly and completely. They won't know when it will happen, but once it does, there is no hope. They blink, and when they open their eyes, they are as confused as a newborn baby. Likewise, he also changed the other sins to be more cruel. Those who receive gluttony will be unable to stomach any food whatsoever without immediately throwing it back up, and will slowly starve."

Isabela, you noted to yourself.

"Pride will turn that person inside out with shame and embarrassment, making them believe they're worthless until they believe they have no right to live."

Luisa.

"Greed will turn them into a recluse, refusing to see anyone, even to receive food and water, for fear of their items being stolen."

That piece of jewelry Mirabel wouldn't let me touch! you thought. 

"Sloth will create a living zombie, somebody who cannot sleep, for fear of night terrors chasing them into their reality."

Antonio - he was crying in Pepa's arms before I left.

"Envy makes someone so furious that other people have what they want - and cannot have - that they will kill someone if they upset them enough. Or themselves, if they feel jealous enough."

Delores - oh... she wanted a baby. Her and Mariano must have been trying to have one, since Mariano wants 6 kids, but they couldn't. Isabela is pregnant, though... she seemed pretty mad at her. What if she kills her out of envy?

"Wrath will cause that person to be constantly infuriated, and if someone does something to make that person angry, they will stop at nothing to shut them down. Even if it means killing them."

You didn't know who that could be, but you didn't have time to wonder as light flooded back into your eyes. Carlos and CJ stood beside you, perfectly healed chests heaving with the strain that you similarly felt.

Everyone was gone except for the three of you.

Apparently, they had all heard the tale as well. None of you knew who wrath and the replacement for lust could be, but you voiced tentative theories as you make your way back over the mountain.

When you finally stumbled along the pathway to Casita nearly a day later, your breath caught in your throat.

"Camilo," you whispered as your eyes locked from where he stood in the doorway. "He's wrath."

And he was going to kill you.