1. Chapter 1

AN: I had to get an Encanto fic in. I have some other ideas as well, but this one wouldn't leave me alone.

I don't speak Spanish, so I didn't incorporate too much of it, but I tried to use the little bit I know from one year of it in high school and what I've picked up from reading other Encanto fics. But if you see mistakes, please don't hesitate to point them out and I will fix them.

This is a multi-chapter story, but I'm not done writing it, so I don't know how many chapters it will be. I'm thinking maybe 5 or 6, but I'm not sure yet. I'm in the middle of writing chapter 3.

Dolores often heard many things she wasn't supposed to.

Dolores definitely heard many things that she wished she hadn't.

Her gift came with many downsides that didn't often seem obvious, especially to her family. In fact, her mother was likely the only one who realized that her gift wasn't so fantastic.

Her mother. And maybe… perhaps… Mirabel.

Mirabel, who also spoke softly around her, who apologized the few times she wasn't as quiet. Mirabel, who never asked for gossip on anyone. Mirabel may realize that her gift wasn't as much of a gift as it seemed at times.

Dolores remembered going up to her mother, not even a day after receiving her gift, asking what this word and that word meant, much to her mother's horror.

A five-year-old should not have such detailed information about sex.

A five-year-old did not need to be subjected to the fights of not only her family, but the entire village.

Dolores learned early on that much of what she heard was never, never to be repeated. Never to be spoken of to anyone.

She tried to learn what was appropriate, what was important, and what wasn't. And when it doubt, it stayed in her head.

Her room was her solace - it provided sound-proofing that allowed her to sleep without the cacophony of the entire towns evening activities ringing through her ears.

Dolores heard much more in a day than she would ever be able to process or act on in her lifetime.

So she tried to focus her talent to keeping her family safe. She heard all of their heartbeats - all eleven of them, if you didn't include her own- and before she went to sleep each night, she would crack her door and check that everyone was home and accounted for.

Abuela? Check.

Mama and Papa? Check.

Tía Julieta and Tío Agustín? Check.

Camilo? Antonio? Check.

Isabella? Luisa? Check.

Mirabel? Check.

Tío Bruno? Check.

It was a nightly ritual that allowed her to rest easy - knowing her whole family was home and their hearts were beating would put her at ease each night.

Tonight was different.

Normally, by the time Dolores was done getting ready for bed, most of her family was at least settled down in their rooms. It would be relatively quiet.

But tonight, Mirabel was still awake.

Dolores didn't typically listen, but she could hear that her prima was crying. It wasn't hard to figure out why - today had been Antonio's ceremony - the day he got his gift. A day bound to be filled with lots of emotion for her youngest prima.

Her cousin was speaking softly, though Dolores couldn't tell who she was speaking to.

"It's just so lonely, you know? I've wanted my own room for years, and I finally have it." Sniffle. "But not like this. Not stuck in the nursery. I just - I feel so lonely." Her prima was quiet for a moment. "I'm nothing special, I know that. But at least when Antonio was here, I wasn't the only one without a gift. Maybe Tío Bruno had the right idea. Maybe being away from here would be easier… easier for everyone."

Dolores let out an involuntary squeak, mentally thankful at the moment that she was the one with the super hearing so nobody heard her.

Tío Bruno? Having the right idea?

Mirabel couldn't possibly know that he was living in the walls, so she must mean leaving the house - possibly even leaving the Encanto altogether.

Had they really failed her prima that badly?

She thought back, and realized just how much that day alone her prima had been failed by everyone in their family.

From the way they treated her when setting up, to how often she was left out of conversations, to the reactions from everyone when she walked with Antonio to his door, to the fact that she had been left out of the family photo and Dolores didn't notice until after it was taken - and she wasn't sure anyone else in their family had noticed at all.

They would have to do better. Dolores would have to do better.

She often ignored what she heard - most things weren't meant to be heard. Most things weren't good for her to hear.

But she couldn't ignore this cry for help from her prima. Her prima, who was so doting to Dolores' youngest brother. Her prima, who cared so lovingly for everyone in their family, with a fervor that rivaled Tía Julieta's. Her prima, whose self-esteem was so low that she thought the family would be better off without her.

No. Dolores was tired of ignoring all the little problems she ignored, too overwhelmed most times to process it all. She was going to have to push through and take better care of her prima.

Because apparently, nobody else was going to.

Dolores almost stalked straight over to the nursery right that second, but rethought it. It's the middle of the night. She didn't want Mirabel thinking that Dolores was spying on her.

Instead, Dolores put a book in her doorway, leaving it open just a crack. That crack would allow all the noise to come in as if her room wasn't soundproof - the door had to be closed for the soundproofing to work.

Dolores climbed into bed, knowing that sleep wouldn't be coming.

Sleep wouldn't be coming, because she was determined to stay up all night and make sure that her prima stayed in the house.

She was determined to make sure her prima didn't run away before she could fix it.

—

The next morning couldn't come fast enough. Dolores didn't sleep a wink all night, but she was too full of ideas and energy to let it bother her.

It helped that Mirabel wanted to talk to her that morning - Dolores put her off, telling her they would talk after breakfast, which Mirabel readily agreed to.

While everyone was reporting what their plans were to be helpful for the day, Dolores dropped a bombshell.

"I'm going to need Mirabel to help me today."

The chaos surrounding them came to a sudden stop and Mirabel looked at Dolores, her face red and shock covering it. "Me?" She asked, her voice high pitched.

"Yes." Dolores tilted her head, listening. "The youngest Silva boy has wandered off. I can hear him in the trees, he's lost."

"Augusto?" Mirabel asked, immediately concerned.

"Yes." Dolores confirmed.

"Why do you need Mirabel to accompany you?" Abuela asked, doubt tinging her voice.

"Mirabel knows him from the work she does at the school. He doesn't know me, I don't want to take a chance he won't come with me once I find him." Dolores explained.

"Then you two must go at once," Abuela waved them on. "Isabela, can you go and inform the Silva's of Dolores' journey so that they aren't worried? And stay with them until he is returned?

"Yes, Abuela." Isabela responded.

Tía Julieta was already handing Mirabel and Dolores food to take with them. "In case your journey is long, or in case either of you or Augusto are hurt." She kissed both girls on the cheek, and Mirabel followed Dolores, seemingly in a daze.

"We have plenty of time to talk now, prima." Dolores said cheerfully.

"Umm… he's actually missing?" Mirabel asked hesitantly.

Dolores frowned. "Yes, he is. It took me a while to sort through the noises to figure out he was missing and where he was."

"And you really think I'm the best person to help you?"

"I know that, Mira. You're great with the kids. I hear you with them all the time, telling them stories and singing with them. Of course I want you with me." Dolores cringed internally as she realized how that sounded, but Mirabel was beaming at her.

Her prima was definitely strange. Dolores was sure that it would sound to Mira that she just wanted her to help her this once, not that she would enjoy spending time with her. But Mirabel seemed thrilled to be needed.

Whatever works, Dolores decided.

"I know you wanted to speak with me this morning, but I have something I need to speak with you about first." Dolores said quietly.

Mira glanced at her curiously, skipping along beside her. "What?"

"Please don't be mad, but I… I heard you last night." Dolores said quietly, watching for Mirabel's reaction.

Mirabel's face fell, and panic flashed through her eyes. "What do you mean?" Is all she asked.

"You - Mira, you are so special. I know you don't see it, and we don't do a good job of making sure you know it, but you are so important to this family. To me. I know I've not been the best prima, but I want to fix that."

Mirabel wasn't responding, just looking at her with wide eyes. "And… Tío Bruno did not have the best idea. With leaving, I mean." Dolores sighed. "I was really worried that you were going to try and leave last night. I didn't even sleep."

Mira frowned. "I'm sorry I worried you-"

Dolores waved her off. "That was not my point." She snapped. "My point is that I love you, prima, and I need to make sure you know that you're important, even without a gift. Maybe even more so without a gift."

Mirabel looked stunned, but she shook her head. "No, I'm not… I'm not useful like the rest of you are. Dolores, you are leading us to a lost child with your hearing. I can't measure up to that."

"Mirabel, you have so many talents." Dolores shot back, getting frustrated. Why couldn't her prima see how important she was?

"No, I don't. I'm nothing special-"

"Mirabel, you see people." Dolores said. "You see everyone for who they are. You see each child at the school and you know their names. You see me, and you are always kind to speak softly to me, to apologize if you haven't. You see everyone in our family beyond what we can provide with our gifts. And that is much more important that my ability to hear or Isa's ability to grow flowers."

Mirabel still looked stunned. "You really think that?"

"I do. And lo siento, I should have told this much sooner." She shrugged. "It's hard to distinguish in the day to day what needs my attention and what doesn't. It still wasn't fair of me though, prima. I didn't give you the attention I should have, and that's on me."

"No, Dolores." Mira was shaking her head. "You have so much to process each day with what you hear. Listening for me should be the last thing on your mind."

"No, it really shouldn't be. Listening to make sure my family is okay should be top of the priority list, not the bottom." Dolores paused. "Would you really have left?"

Mirabel's hesitation was enough of an answer for Dolores. "I was planning to tonight." She admitted.

"Prima, please-" Dolores couldn't keep the panic out her voice. She had to stop her, she had to make her see.

"I won't," Mirabel promised, smiling brightly at Dolores. "I thought… I thought the family would be better off without me. But if you truly need me to stay…" She trailed off.

"I don't just need you to stay, I want you to stay." Dolores said matter-of-factly. "And the rest of the family does too, just wait-"

"No!" Mirabel stopped walking, looking at Dolores with fear. "Don't tell anyone else. Please, prima, don't tell anyone else."

"They need to know how their actions have effected you." Dolores stated.

"I'll stay, I swear, but don't tell them. Please." She begged. Across Mirabel's face, Dolores could see fear and… was that shame?

"Okay," she relented, "But you better not break your promise to me. And you're going to be my buddy - you do great with people, and I… do not. So when you aren't needed elsewhere, you are going to stick with me."

"I'm sure you have better things to do than to babysit me." Mirabel responded, uncomfortably.

"It's not babysitting." Dolores rolled her eyes. "Its spending time with my youngest prima, who for some reason, doesn't understand how amazing she is. I'm sorry I haven't made more of an effort before, but I'm changing that." She promised.

Mirabel perked up slightly. "Okay." She shrugged, not looking totally convinced. Dolores would just have to make her see over time.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Dolores asked Mirabel, remembering that her prima had tried to get her alone earlier that day.

Mirabel looked nervous. "Have you heard anything? Anything to do with the magic? The cracks I saw last night?"

"There was too much going on at the time for me to know if anything was said… just because I didn't hear it, doesn't mean nobody was worried. There was too much noise. I didn't hear anyone discussing it last night, but Luisa's eye was twitching all night."

"Her eye only does that when she's stressed. Like, really stressed." Mirabel turned her wide brown eyes to Dolores. "Do you think she knows anything?"

"When we get back, we'll ask her." Dolores promised. She paused, tilting her head. "We're close to the little boy."

"Augusto!" Mirabel called out. They walked a little while longer, calling out his name, and then they heard crying.

Mirabel rushed forward and they found a little boy, no older than Antonio, sitting on the ground, crying, with scratches all over his arms.

"Mira!" He cried, reaching his arms up, and Mirabel didn't waste any time scooping him into her arms, soothing his tears. "I wanted to explore, but then I got scared and I got turned around and I couldn't find my way home." He started crying again.

"Well, have no fear, because Dolores and I are here to take you home right now." Mirabel tickled him a little, causing the tears to shift to laughter. "And my mama sent us with some food, so let's get you fixed up, okay?" She coaxed him into eating an arepa, and the cuts and scratches on the boy immediately started to close up.

"Let's get you home now, hmm?" Mirabel asked.

He nodded into her shoulder, not giving Dolores a second of attention as they started heading back home.

Dolores gave her cousin a pointed glance, causing Mirabel to blush and nod.

It seemed like her cousin was finally seeing that Dolores was telling her the truth.