Encanto Empire

Prologue

Many, many years ago, when a new mother had just given birth to her three children, chaos broke out on their peaceful and joyous night. The sound of chirping grasshoppers is now replaced with deafening bombs and agonizing screams from terrified neighbors. The cool glow of the moon is now replaced with the golden glow of blazing buildings. And the sound of galloping hooves roamed the streets.

Fearful for the fate of their new family, the mother and her husband flee into the night with nothing but their necessities for survival and their three newborn offspring. Like the star of Bethlehem, the neighbors followed the couple who led them with a single bright lantern onto the bowels of a ship. There, they laid low and stayed as quiet as possible as they rested on barrels and piles of goods. The sound of the waves crashing outside synced with the soft wails and sobs of their terrified fellowmen. Soon enough, the sound of heavy footsteps running about upstairs resounded in the now deathly silent bilge. Everyone was too afraid to walk around and peek into the little round windows, but they could feel for sure that the ship had begun sailing.

The soft rocking of the ship made many stomachs turn. And while everyone kept their silence, the look of agony on their faces was as loud as a baby's cry. Silence was never enough to keep the monsters at bay, for they could sense fear from miles away. Their hearts raced as the door pounded. It rumbled like thunderclouds for what seemed like an eternity until it opened with a thunderclap, and everyone downstairs screamed in terror.

An overwhelming sensation of guilt washed over the Madrigals, for they had just realized that they had led their neighbors to a dreadful fate. The husband, without a thought, threw himself between his people and their enemies. "Pedro!" His wife screamed, but he just kept a straight face with his hands up in surrender. He replied, "It's alright, Alma." whilst facing their terrorists bravely, drenched in cold sweat. He tried to plead with his heart, but they mercilessly sent him to his knees. His wife helplessly watched him get beaten up right before her eyes and dragged upstairs as she screamed at every blow. The world that welcomed her newborn babies was cruel and heartless. All the men in their group tried going after Pedro as the women followed closely behind them, trying to keep them from the armed foes. While Alma herself just wanted to see the state of her husband. She mustered up all her strength to climb upstairs, and the very moment she stepped foot right on the surface, she saw her husband get slain with a rusty old cutlass. The blade went through his chest and onto his back. "Amor?" Alma mumbled in a trembling voice. Blood started dripping from his mouth as he turned to look at his wife for the last time. His glassy brown eyes turned golden in the light of a lantern before his face. No words came out of his bloody red lips, but his eyes spoke plenty for him. "I love you."

His wife dropped to her knees and wailed. She felt her world crumble before her and her heart shatter into a million pieces. The sound of her screech was as powerful as sirens, and so was the light that later shone as bright as day from the single lit candle in her lantern. An enormous butterfly as big as the ship emerged from it. It was made up of glimmering lights with elegant patterns of curves and a few spirals. It flapped its wings once, and all their enemies were flung overboard all the way to the ocean, where they were dragged to deep trenches where hell awaits. Everyone witnessed the majestic yet horrific scene. They were too stunned to even blink. And just moments later, a thick mist wrapped itself around the ship. What's strange is that instead of being touched by the shivering cold of this fog, it was surprisingly warm and welcoming. The skies had never lit up so fast when the dark skies turned into gradients of light blue until they turned into the morning sky only seconds later. The men slowly peered into the waters below and saw a kaleidoscope of what seemed like butterflies made up of water, leading them to a vast land of mountains up ahead.

The humongous butterfly flew to the center of the land and slowly ascended into a golden floating palace with hovering stairs that led to the ground. It shone like a star in the distance. And while the widow stared in disbelief, entranced by the fascination of a magical event, she hadn't noticed the smaller butterflies that covered her clothes. They latched on to her. And with each butterfly, her old and worn-out fabrics turned into luxurious magenta silk and the finest gold and black laces of royalty. Her shoes turned into garnet, and jewelry dangled over her neck and wrist. As for the final touch, a crown of butterflies rested on her twin braids of black hair.