The Green Clad Madrigal

Midnight Mischief

"Have you heard? That girl from Antonio's ceremony?"

"I heard she's Bruno's daughter!"

Hannah paused as she moved along the dark streets in the Encanto.

Wait, were they talking about Casandra?

"That cursed prophet?! I hope he's not back!"

"Wait, Bruno actually had sex?!"

"Who would want to sleep with that?!"

"Actually she looks like Mirabel..."

Yeah, that was Casandra. Hannah smirked as she had an idea, remembering some of things her husband and his family had said the villagers used to think about Bruno.

She leaned over faking a face, "Oh dear. Bruno's daughter?! I hope she is not here to curse us like he used to do!"

Hannah was delighted as she saw the villagers started to spiral like they always did at her little nudge, coming up with crazy theories and ideas about Cas.

.....

Mirabel took a deep breath as she snuck out of her room in the middle of the night and sneaked to her Tio Bruno's room. She paused at ever creak as she hurried along trying not to get caught.

She eventually stood at the door, it was eerie to see the darkened door. She had always been upset at the darkened door, she had worried that he had..died. She had remembered Tio Bruno that last night. Telling her it was fine. That no one would love her less.

Too bad Tio Bruno was a liar....

She shook her head and flung open Bruno's door and was greeted with a sand waterfall.

"Casita, can you turn off the sand?" Mirabel whispered her question to the house.

Casita flipped her tile in a no.

"No?" Mirabel whispered in surprise.

She eyed the sandfall and took a breath, "Okay."

Another tile flipped in concern.

"No, I got this. This is for Mama and Tia Pepa," Mirabel paused, "And Abuela. We need to know about why Tio Bruno hid this...." She took a step forward, "From everyoooooonnnnnne." And she promptly fell down the sandhill in Bruno's room.

.....

"You could have just lied!" Bruno threw his hands up in frustration.

"I was flustered! And no one was going to believe I was 10," Cas pointed out as she sat in Bruno's red chair petting "her" rat Chus as they watched Bruno pacing back and front of them in his hidden room.

"But you made me look like I made a bad choice! That I hide you from them " Bruno argued looking annoyed at Cas, "Like I have bad taste in women!"

"You're living in the walls....You do make bad choices..." Cas replied simply.

He turned and gave her a look, "This to protect Mirabel! Are you saying I made a bad choice?"

"Every Madrigal makes bad choices!" Cas lamented, "This family hasn't made a good choice since 1900!"

Bruno opened his mouth to argue but couldn't help but close it. Especially with the 'really?' look on Cas' face that he recognized as the same look Julieta and her daughters made all the time.

He simply shrugged, "Meh."

....

Mirabel couldn't help but groaned as she continued up the stairs, "Bruno your room is the worse! I bet Cas has just as bad a room! You better have a diary or something hidden these stairs!"

She huffed as she made it to the top just to see the broken bridge, "oh motherfu-"

....

Abuela sat in her room opened Casandra's room gently and peaked in, a lot on her mind as she thought back to conversation she had with her daughters about how things weren't adding up with Cas' story. Pepa was very angry about the whole thing about Bruno possibly hiding kids from them while Julieta started voicing her belief that maybe Cas wasn't who she said she was.

Abuela had shut both of them down. She finally had a piece of Bruno back, a piece of her son back. She wouldn't have this image broken.

She glanced into and blinked as she saw an empty bed, she was so shocked she didn't notice the broken door in the back.

.....

Mirabel was pretty frustrated. She had rope swung over the bridge as searched her Tios bed room, which was devoted of anything personally which was weird but all that was left was to search his vision cave, " Maybe the creepy cave has a clue....maybe....hopefully.."

She entered and couldn't help but notice a faint green glow, "what's that?"

.....

Cas sat upside down in Bruno's red chair, "I don't know. Like Abuela Mirabel just liked me wearing green. According to her, you were like my great grandpa since Abuelo Agustin and Abuela Julieta were gone."

Bruno was laying in the middle of the cold floor, trying to help his achy back, "Well, it's gotten us in trouble."

"I think if Abuela Alma had just talked to me...."

"Your Abuela doesn't listen to people."

Cas sighed as she flipped herself back upright in the chair, "That's true. But, I look exactly like Abuela Mirabel though. How is she excusing that?"

Bruno shrugged on the floor, " no idea, kiddo. Madrigals are good about living in denial. But Julieta is suspicious. She thinks you're Mirabel's daughter from the future."

"Oh so Abuela Julieta has the brain cell today....Anyway, speaking of Mirabel, she doesn't want to even be around me! How am I suppose to get her to save the miracle when I can't be around her long even to point her in the right direction!" Cas lamented as she flopped in the chair like an over dramatic teenager, "Stupid 1950..."

The man sighed and leaned over to give a half hearted uncle pat on her knee, "We'll figure it out. By we'll I mean you, I have no ideas."

Cas gave her great great uncle a deadpanned look that she very much inherited from Mirabel, "So, helpful Tio....."

Suddenly a group of rats came running into Bruno's room looking frightened.

Bruno sat up confused as he picked a few of his pets.

"Whats that about?" Cas asked confused.

.....

Mirabel took a deep breath as she back away from the edge of the cliff and looked down at the green pieces she collected inside the cave before it decided to fill up with sand. She hadn't gotten to look at it besides the face that could honestly be hers or Cas', "Okay, let's figure out what the puzzle is back in the nursery....."

She paused and looked at the rope out of her reach, "after I figure out how to get down...."