She wasn't perfect.
But no one needed to know that she was good at keeping the act up. But when she was alone, Isabella would just cry, tears messing with her makeup as blue and green flowers sprouted at her feet. Only one person knew about her facade, her cousin Dolores.
Isabela and Dolores were around the same age and had been close as kids. Dolores had watched as Isabella became the perfect Madrigal.
Now every step was practiced, every breath, every blossom. There wasn't room for messing up. Yet Dolores could hear Isabella's sobs and she pleads in the middle of the night just to be normal.
Many times Dolores would comfort her, even sitting next to her as Isabella fell asleep whimpering in her arms. This was a common occurrence, but Dolores tried to ignore the nagging feeling of worry for her prima.
But then she heard Abuela one night.
Abuela was talking to Julieta and Augustine about a man that Dolores had been trying to muster up the courage to talk to, Mariano Guzmán.
Abuela was talking about how Isabela was a perfect match for Mariano, and how their magical blessings would continue through them. Dolores could only listen as tears streamed down her face.
Of course, he'd be marrying Isabella. Of course, the man she was in love with was going to be married to her cousin! Dolores knew this would happen thanks to her Tio Bruno, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. Why did Isabela need to be the one who stripped Mariano away from her?
After hearing that conversation Dolores unconsciously started to avoid Isabela, she didn't want her prima to hurt more than she already did. She kept quiet as Abuela continued to make arrangements with the Guzmán's.
When the time came for Abuela to tell Isabela about the engagement plans, Dolores could only watch as Isabela forced back tears and nodded at Abuela, talking about how perfect it was.
Dolores could only grow more concerned as Isabela forced her voice to stay steady and dashed away from the dinner table as soon as she got the chance.
Dolores's eyes trailed Isabela's graceful form as she walked away and into her room. Dolores listened in, hearing the sounds of screaming and smashing.
Dolores knew her prima wasn't going to be able to listen to her in this state, it was best to just leave her be for now. Even their lengthy talk sections couldn't fix the messes that they found themselves in.
So, as the Madrigal family settled for the night, Dolores couldn't help but sigh deeply as she lay in her bed, the noises of the outside muffled due to her room's magic.
Casita played soft music in the background to help Dolores sleep, but she just couldn't. So, Dolores laid awake, thinking about her troubled cousin. It may have been another hour before Dolores heard a strange sound, it was very quiet, so she couldn't figure out what the noise was.
She slowly got up from her bed, her ears pricked to hear the sound better, yet she still couldn't figure out what it was or where it was coming from. She walked to her door, opening it a crack.
It took her a moment to get used to all the noises again, her mama's light snoring, the leaves in the breeze, Bruno muttering to himself in the walls, it all flooded back to her. Dolores focused on the sound she heard earlier, finally figuring out what the sound was.
Someone was gasping for air, it sounded like a panic attack.
A moment later she realized it was Isabela, quickly Dolores put on her slippers and walked out of her room, hearing something that made her stop in her tracks.
Flesh tearing.
Immediately Dolores scrambled towards her cousin's door, heaving as she heard sobs a moment later. Dolores's ears roared as she arrived at the flowery door. A moment later Dolores could hear the sound of liquid dripping down Isabela's legs.
Sangre.
Catita's tiles clinked in concern as Dolores rushed into Isabela's room frantically. The inside of her prima's room was covered in a variety of roses and other flowers, a few of them were faintly glowing, giving a slight amount of light to the otherwise dark room.
Dolores rushed towards the sound of Isabela's now clear weeping. A moment later she saw her cousin, on the floor and looking like a crumbled blossom. Isabela was safe thankfully, but why was she bleeding?
Then she saw it.
Blood trickled down her cousin's leg, a tangle of rose thorns firmly implanted into Isabella's skin.
Dolores could only gasp in horror as she saw blood trickling down her cousin's leg.
Isabella, finally noticing her presence, whipped her head towards her. Her face was intense and cold, her eyes puffy from crying and mascara falling down her face.
It looked as though all the light from her eyes vanished.
"Oh.... Isa...." Dolores murmured before rushing up to her cousin and hugging her tightly. Isabella didn't say anything, whimpered into her shoulder. Dolores rubbed the back of her cousin's head, trying not to cry at what Isabella had just done to herself.
"Isa, please take those vines out of your leg." She whispered, her voice trembling. Isabella only nodded, the thorns detaching from her leg and disappearing into the ground. Blood was now leaking from the wound much more, large red trails painting Isabela's leg.
"Come on.... Let's get you some Arepa's...." Dolores murmured, helping her cousin up from her crumpled state. But to her surprise, Isabella shook her head.
"No, Dolores, you need to understand. This is how I defy my family, if I make my body imperfect, I'll know that the perfect person that everyone thinks exists isn't real! I'll be able to smile because I'll be the one who knows who I truly am, I'll be FREE Dolores!" Isabella declared, grabbing onto Dolores's arms tightly.
Dolores squeaked, holding back tears at her cousin's words. Dolores could see the hope in Isabela's eyes, she believed that. How could she believe hurting her body will make anything any better? She didn't know.
Dolores just stared at her cousin's pleading stare to stay silent, to not tell the family and let her be happy, even for a moment. Dolores simply sighed and nodded, hugging her cousin again.
"Just.... Please tell someone eventually, they could help you. Maybe Abuela won't put so much pressure on you afterward." Dolores murmured to her Prima.
"I need to clean this up.... Thanks for checking on me." Isabella muttered, breaking the hug turning to a tangle of vines passing her bandages.
Dolores nodded, realizing it was her time to leave. She squeezed her eyes shut and walked out of her cousin's room. She silently shut the door behind her, squeezing her eyes shut and walking back to her room.
Dolores walked back to her bed, looking up at the large ceiling and lightly hugging her pillow to her chest. She couldn't do anything, Abuela probably would just keep a stricter eye on Isabela instead of helping her.
Maybe Tia Julieta and Tio Augustine would be able to do something, but not much. Abuela was in charge.
She was helpless.
So, she wept silently, she didn't know anyone could cry so much as she did that night. She eventually fell asleep from exhaustion.
She woke up to her Mama kissing her forehead, telling her that breakfast would be ready soon. Dolores got ready for the day, forgetting momentarily what happened last night.
Then she saw Isabella again, as usual, she walked gracefully, a trail of petals behind her, every step practiced and perfect. It took Dolores every ounce of her power not to just scream right then and there.
The morning progressed, the family having their usual breakfast, Isabela was still plastering a fake smile as Abulea mentioned the engagement once again. Dolores could only watch as Isabela got up from her seat to go into town after breakfast and accidentally crashed into Mirabel.
Dolores squeaked as she heard bandages rubbing against the soft fabric.
