64. Four Years Later
Blue.
Nothing but blue.
Blue above, blue below.
The vast, endless sky.
The shimmering, wondrous ocean.
Out here, over the seas and under the skies, there was only blue…
Offset by a speck of gold.
Slicing through the air on its four wings, its triple-finned tail skimming the water’s surface, flew a creature.
A dragon.
A Stormcutter, to be precise.
With golden scales, tipped with baby blue and shining in the sunlight. Bits of vibrant ribbon and string were tied around the ends of the regal crest that lied on its forehead. The dragon didn’t mind, it actually enjoyed these added splashes of color.
It wasn’t alone.
Sitting atop the dragon’s saddled back, water droplets splashing onto her lime green glasses, was a girl.
More of a woman now, at twenty years of age.
Her shoulder length curly black hair rippled in the breeze, as did her fully cobalt dress. More elegant than the one she wore as a teen, as she’d outgrown it when she grew taller and filled out a tad more. Yet it was still embroidered with a variety of colorful symbols. It wouldn’t be hers if she didn’t add a personal touch.
Her deep brown eyes were sparkling from the thrill of flight.
She was Mirabel Madrigal, youngest Madrigal granddaughter, and savior of the Miracle.
Together, she and her companion dragon Mariposa soared across the seas. Two separate beings, flying as one.
They weaved through a pod of Thunderdrums, leaping out of the water. Ducking under their large bodies, and surging with adrenaline if they got just a bit too close.
The aquatic dragons had been tasked with protecting the waters around the Encanto, and preventing anyone going for a flight from straying too far away. Lest they be rendered unable to return.
And they’d been asked very politely to be extra quiet when in town, for Dolores’ sake.
Climbing higher into the air, they ascended until they were surrounded by only the puffiest of white clouds. Drifting wingtips through the fluff.
After performing a loop, they soared downwards before rocketing back up. Spinning in tight circles through the clouds.
Just when it seemed like they’d touch the sun, Mariposa ceased all movement. Joyfully allowing the two to plummet to the sea of clouds.
Opening her wings back up, the updraft launched them into a graceful drift. Amidst a flock of Timberjacks, soaring above.
Mirabel held her arms out, as if she was doing the flapping, and allowed the winds to wash over her.
This was freedom.
This was freedom exemplified.
But as fun as it was, they couldn’t stay up here forever.
This was supposed to be a brief morning flight, before she had to head back. It was going to be a busy day for her.
She clutched Mariposa’s saddle, and steered them back towards the colossal mountain range. Where her home resided.
Once they were inside, passing through the misty peaks and winding through palm trees, she looked down.
She smiled at the colorful town that looked so very small from up here. Squinting her eyes to make out the little forms of people and dragons, wandering through the settlement.
They were approaching their destination, but before they could land, Mirabel was stricken with an idea.
“You wanna give it another shot?” She asked the dragon, grinning.
From beneath her, Mariposa’s owlish eyes shot open. Before falling into a disgruntled glare. She trilled her displeasure.
They’d been working on a trick for a while now, but they could never get it quite right. If it weren’t for her mother’s cooking, they may not have been able to keep trying…
The girl just laughed away her friend’s worries, and leaned over to pat the dragon’s neck reassuringly. Her arm still marked with a faded burn scar. “Oh come on, it’ll be fun!”
Mariposa was not convinced.
But she obliged, and steadied her glide so her rider could begin the attempt.
Carefully, Mirabel planted her feet on the dragon’s back. Holding her arms out to achieve a balance, she stood fully straight.
Before crouching down…
And jumping off her dragon.
Backwards.
Her arms splayed out in a triumphant pose, and her grin as wide as could be, she performed a backwards dive off the Stormcutter. Not even showing a hint of fear.
She giggled while twirling through the air, not minding the ground that seemed to be rapidly approaching.
This felt amazing.
The next step was for Mariposa to fly downwards, and position herself beneath her rider. After which Mirabel would stick the landing, and sit herself back down.
But when the Stormcutter tried to do this, a buzzing Gronckle that wasn’t watching where it was flying knocked into her. Sending her careening off course, and knocking her into the mountainside.
Mirabel watched this happen with burgeoning fear, and suddenly the rapidly approaching ground looked a whole lot scarier.
This no longer felt amazing.
“MARIPOSA!” She cried, flailing through the air.
The dragon righted herself, and scrambled to try and catch her rider.
Separating her four wings to cut through the air, she strained herself to catch the girl before she splattered onto the nearest surface. In this case, a building that was constructed onto the side of the mountain.
She was picking up speed, but so was Mirabel. She may not reach her in time…
No! She wouldn’t let this happen!
Mariposa forced herself to dive at maximum speed, gritting her teeth from the effort.
Right when it seemed Mirabel would collide with the structure’s rooftop, Mariposa finally reached her.
Catching the girl and enveloping her in all her wings, they crashed through the roof. Knocking a myriad of items over, and slamming them onto the floor in a heap of scales and fallen debris.
While she was aching from the impact, and panting from the exertion, Mirabel couldn’t help but laugh.
What a rush!
Dislodging herself from the dragon’s wings, she stood on wobbly feet.
She smoothed her ruffled hair out, and adjusted her glasses. Which always seemed to come out of any situation in decent condition.
She had no idea what they were made out of, and at this point she was afraid to ask.
“We gotta work on your reaction time, girl…” She mused, while dusting off her dress. Wiping a hand over the skirt’s right side, marked with symbols representing herself and her family. And then the left, which was adorned with icons depicting every known dragon class.
She took a moment to survey the room. The very wrecked room.
A shelf was knocked over, and all its contents were splattered onto the floor. Maps and dioramas hung loosely from the walls. Books were scattered about, there was the obvious gaping hole in the ceiling, and a desk in the center of the room had been split in half.
All things considered, it was one of their better crashes.
SMACK
“OW!” Mirabel suddenly cried, rubbing the back of her neck.
A small piece of wood had been thrown at her, while her back was turned.
And she already knew the culprit.
Whirling around, she saw Mariposa glowering at her with agitation.
She knew this was a bad idea!
“Oh gimme a break…” Mirabel sighed, both amused and exasperated. “I said I was sorry!”
The dragon gave her an even harsher glare, as if to say “No you didn’t!”, before turning her head in the opposite direction.
The girl sputtered for a response. “W-Well I’m saying it now!”
In the last few years, it seemed Mirabel had grown a bit of a reckless edge. To her dragon’s annoyance.
The two squabbled for a short time, lost in their little argument. Neither heard it when the room’s door opened.
“How nice of you to drop in…” Snarked a nasally voice.
Looking over, they saw that a Night Fury was standing in the doorframe.
And besides the Night Fury, was a man.
He was decently tall, much taller than he once was. He was slender, but no longer as skinny. His shoulders had filled out, his chin was broader, and he even had a bit of muscle.
His growth spurt had begun to garner the attention of the girls in the village, much to Mirabel’s distaste and his obliviousness.
Calling him scrawny at this point would be quite inaccurate.
He wore a light-blue button up shirt, beige khakis, and a single sandal. His left leg ended in a metal peg, a red bandana tied around where his pant leg met the prosthetic.
True to his word, he’d upgraded the metal leg in various ways. It was lighter, less clunky. And it had two modes, one for walking and one for flying. He’d become quite adept at walking with it, and at this point he was running and even dancing with the prosthetic.
Though despite that, everyone was still prone to fretting over him whenever he had the slightest stumble.
He had a mop of auburn hair, which was still long, but he’d finally gotten it trimmed a bit. A few parts were twisted into little braids. From his pine green eyes to his lopsided smirk, there was no one else it could be but Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.
Proud resident of the Encanto for five years, dragon fanatic, hero of Berk…
And Mirabel’s beloved boyfriend.
They’ve been together for nearly five years, at this point. And could confidently say that they wanted to spend their lives together. They saw no future where they weren’t deeply in love.
After hearing his joke, Mirabel could only roll her eyes.
“How long have you been saving that one?” She asked.
He chuckled, as he began to pick up some things that had fallen. “Oh, you know…the fourth time you crashed!”
She joined him in cleaning up her mess. “Laugh all you want. Once we get that stunt right, we’ll be the ones laughing!”
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at this.
“I really don’t think she’s gonna let you try that again…” He stated, while pointing to the Stormcutter in the room.
With a stern glare, Mariposa huffed her agreement with his statement.
Though her cross attitude disappeared when Toothless bounded up to her, and the two began trilling and warbling with each other.
“Look, all I’m saying is that it would look super cool!” Mirabel insisted.
“I’m sure it would…” Hiccup chuckled. “And I’m sure you’ll feel really cool when every bone in your body is broken!”
In response, Mirabel stuck her tongue out. And the two returned to cleaning.
As opposed to Mirabel’s newfound daredevil streak, a relatively peaceful life in the Encanto has resulted in a much more laid-back Hiccup. He enjoyed a good adventure, here and there. But he was also content to just spend a day relaxing in the breeze.
Once they’d finished tidying up the floors, it was time to start the day. They’d throw a tarp over the roof, until they could fix it. And getting a new desk should be easy enough.
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” Mirabel asked, taking a seat on one half of the desk. It began to tremble, and she quickly stood back up.
“Let’s find out…” Hiccup moved over to a board on the wall. “Lucky for us, it was one of the few things you didn’t destroy. So we can actually check!”
She rolled her eyes again, as he pored over the board’s contents.
Which was a new development. He could actually read.
It was slower than the average adult in the village, and he still got tripped up plenty of times. But Hiccup could now read the language of the land he lived in, to his joy.
“Alright, what do we have here…” He mumbled.
“We’ve got the usual lessons, what to do if your dragon sneezes inside…is it safe to eat food your dragon vomits for you…why it isn’t a good idea to keep a Scauldron in a fish bowl…”
Mirabel huffed, knowing that particular lesson was made for one person alone. “That woman is a danger to aquatic creatures everywhere.”
Hiccup laughed, before something else on the board caught his attention.
“Oh, we’ve got a bonding!” He said, cheerily.
Mirabel perked up as she heard those words.
Bondings were a new event to their culture. When a child reached the age of ten, they were given the opportunity to bond with a juvenile dragon. Forming an everlasting connection, and gaining a lifelong companion.
It was always a magical moment. And soon after they started performing them, every kid in the village was looking forward to their tenth birthday.
“Who’s is it?” Mirabel asked, walking up to him to check the board.
They both smiled when they saw who it was. Alejandra, a spunky young girl, and one of the first kids in Hiccup’s original dragon classes.
They were all so big now…
As the local dragon aficionados, it was their job to oversee each bonding. And this time as no different.
Hiccup’s eyes then widened when he saw what time it was scheduled for.
“Aw jeez, it’s in five minutes!” He spouted, while he scrambled to place the board back.
A new voice then entered the room.
“Actually, it’s in four!” Spoke Antonio, as he stepped into the wrecked area. His small flock of six Terrors fluttering around him.
The small boy had grown exponentially in the last few years, and his hair had somehow become even more fluffy. His clothes were fairly similar, just in a bigger size. And a pair of binoculars hung from his neck, for spotting dragons from afar.
Now a plucky ten-year-old, he completed the trio of dragon handlers in the Encanto. His ability to directly communicate with the creatures and translate their thoughts was indispensable. And his passion for wildlife of all sorts was a big help.
“And it’s about to be three…” He spoke again, his voice a bit deeper than it once was. “So I suggest we get a move on!”
Taking his advice, Hiccup and Mirabel followed the boy out of the room. Followed by their dragons.
They’d fix it up some other time.
They exited the building, and continued on towards their destination.
The Encanto’s dragon population was held in a series of large stables, constructed on the inward-facing sides of each of the mountains that surrounded it. Every one vividly decorated, of course.
They were connected by rope bridges, linking each stable to another. To access one from the surface, there were long staircases. Each one set up with decks and chairs, in case the substantial climb became too tiring.
Though on dragon-back, the trip was trivial.
The centerpiece was the building they’d just left. The one Mirabel had busted a hole into.
It resembled a decently sized treehouse, and acted as their base of operations. For discussing any dragon related matters, or just hanging out.
The entire structure served not only as a place to keep all their dragons, but as a place of learning. Classes were taught every day, to assist in helping the townspeople understand the dragons. And with Antonio’s help, the dragons were instructed on how to conduct themselves when in the town.
They were doing good work here, nurturing harmony between people and dragons. Hiccup, Mirabel, and Antonio were immensely proud in what they’d accomplished.
It’d taken a long while to completely build this. The village had called the blueprints crazy, when Hiccup showed them his first concepts.
But here it stood, proudly housing their reptilian neighbors and keeping them close. With the added benefit of preventing them from crowding the town.
They made idle conversation, as they stepped across one of the bridges. Watching as dragons soared overhead in the hot sun. Some with riders, some without.
“The Skrill won’t listen to anyone except Mami, which makes it really hard to keep him with the other dragons…” Antonio moaned.
Mirabel and Hiccup frowned at this. Pepa had recently bonded with the Skrill, but it was too rowdy to keep in the house.
Isabela and Luisa’s dragons were too large, and Camilo’s too naughty to live in Casita. So they were given a specialized stable to stay in, for whenever they weren’t with their riders.
They had the same idea for Pepa’s dragon. But as he seemed to be rather problematic, his living arrangements were a continuing debate.
“Well, what if we got Camilo?” Mirabel asked. “The last time that dragon started trouble, Milo just turned into Pepa and got him to calm down.”
Hiccup wasn’t so sure of that idea.
“That only worked for five minutes…” He pointed out.
“It still worked!” She shot back with a grin.
Antonio then grew a mischievous smirk.
“Milo’s hiding right now!” He said. “He just broke up with his last boyfriend, and he didn’t take it well!”
The young couple groaned upon hearing this.
“What is this, the sixth time?” Hiccup asked.
“Nope.” Mirabel corrected. “Seven.”
On top of his pranks, only worsened by his Changewing companion, it seemed Camilo had amassed a growing number of ex boyfriends and girlfriends. And each break up ended with an increasingly crazy story. Most of them involving him using his shapeshifting to get out of some bizarre scenario.
The young man continued to live up to his chaotic title.
They soon arrived at the stable where the fledgling dragons were kept.
When they entered, they saw that Alejandra was already inside. Bouncing on her feet with excitement.
Grinning widely, she observed all the hatchlings in the pens. Playing, trying out their developing wings, and hiccupping tiny bursts of flame.
One of these little things was about to become hers.
“So what do I do? What do I say? Is there some crazy ritual or something?” She asked, the words pouring out incredibly fast.
“First, you’ll need one of these!” Hiccup spoke, as he handed the child a large basket. Barrel-like in shape.
Alejandra eagerly took the woven basket, which was nearly as big as her. Peeking over the top with excited eyes.
Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Mirabel gave the girl some advice.
“It’s really simple! Just go in there, and see if anyone speaks to you!”
“Not literally!” Hiccup added. “The dragon won’t literally speak to you!”
“Unless you ask me!” Antonio chimed in.
Finally, she was ready.
Hiccup pulled a lever, and opened the gate to the pens, allowing her inside. They kept a close eye, of course, but they had complete faith that nothing would go wrong.
The girl slowly stepped through the space, whipping her head around to look at all the small dragons. And trying not to step on any tails.
Some would sniff at her, or give her curious looks, but for the most part they paid her no mind. Simply happy to either nap or wrestle with each other.
She remained vigilant, on the lookout for the dragon that really spoke to her.
But she didn’t find it.
It found her.
She suddenly found herself on the ground, as a young Monstrous Nightmare bumped into her from behind. Not quite being a master of flying yet.
She turned to face it, ready to give it a scolding. But when her brown eyes met its yellow ones, the will to fight suddenly left her.
She stood, and so did the dragon. She tilted her head to the right, and it mimicked her movement. She tilted to the left, and it did the same.
They stood there, staring at each other…
And in the blink of an eye, they were frolicking about without a care in the world.
Gently, she coaxed the dragon into her basket. And it gladly entered, willing to go wherever she may go.
Mirabel, Hiccup, and Antonio all smiled warmly at the sight of another successful bonding. Each new connection between a human and a dragon was a marvelous thing.
Toothless and Mariposa would have smiled as well, if they weren’t in the process of being used as jungle gyms by Tonito’s Terrors.
“A Nightmare, nice!” Mirabel cheered, as the girl returned to them with the basket in her arms.
After listening to its chittering, Antonio grinned. “He says you’re fun to play with!”
“Just uh…be careful with having him inside…” Hiccup chuckled nervously. “Young Nightmares aren’t the best at controlling the whole…spontaneous combustion thing.”
Smiling widely, Alejandra skipped her way out of the stable. Never letting go of her scaly new friend.
But as she was exiting, they noticed someone else entering.
“Abuela?” Mirabel asked, moving towards the old woman. “What are you doing here?”
The old woman looked relatively unchanged, perhaps a few more wrinkles and slightly greyer hair. The same could be said for all the older Madrigals.
Seeing her at the stables was a rare sight, unless something had gone wrong.
But from the way Alma was grinning, there thankfully didn’t seem to be any trouble.
“Good morning, everyone!” She greeted, though her gaze was focused solely on her granddaughter. “I actually came here to fetch you, Mirabel. I was wondering if we could perhaps take a walk, together?”
That was an offer the young woman was always open to, but…
“I’d love to, Abuela. But I promised I’d babysit today…” She said.
But her grandma was undeterred.
“That’s quite alright, we’ll take the children with us!” She proclaimed. “Nothing wrong with a little family time, hm?”
Mirabel’s smile returned.
“Well in that case!” She mounted Mariposa, and patted the spot behind her.
Alma then began to look very nervous.
“Er, actually…” She gulped. “C-Could we take the stairs instead?”
Mirabel was disheartened, but she agreed.
Alma was still a bit squeamish about the dragons, and with flying. She’d only done it once, years ago. And seemingly had no desire to do it again. She wouldn’t even entertain the idea of getting a dragon of her own.
But as long as the creatures remained peaceful, and her grandchildren were having fun, she didn’t raise any complaints.
“See you boys later! Love you both!” The bespectacled girl said, as she began to leave.
She ruffled Antonio’s hair, shared a brief kiss with Hiccup, and collected her dragon.
Though before they were gone, Alma had one last thing to say.
“Oh, and Hiccup?” She called, gaining the young man’s attention.
“Mirabel likes begonias!” She winked with a knowing look, before she left with her granddaughter.
Hiccup sighed good naturedly, while Antonio giggled.
For the last year the family’s been dropping hints, asking when Hiccup was going to pop the question. And giving him tips on how to go about it.
They ranged from subtle, like Augustin randomly deciding to regale Hiccup with the story of his proposal to Julieta.
To not so subtle, like Pepa shoving the old vision of he and Mirabel’s wedding right in front of his face. And sharply asking “When!?”
It was becoming very annoying.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to be married. Far from it, in fact. They couldn’t imagine the rest of their lives without being wed to one another.
But they knew it was happening, so why rush? One day the question will be asked, meaning there’s no need to freak out about it.
But despite his exasperation, Hiccup found it a bit endearing.
Part of it was the desire to see their Mirabel having such a special day, obviously.
But another part of it was the want for Hiccup to become a truly official part of the Madrigal family. Name and all.
And he couldn’t deny that he very much wanted that too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five Madrigals strolled through the town. Three of them being very young.
Mirabel had promised her Tio Bruno, Tia Valentina, and her cousins Dolores and Mariano that she’d give them a well-earned break from changing diapers, and watch their babies for a few hours.
She gripped a stroller in her hands, pushing it down the road as she walked and talked with her grandmother and her dragon.
The oldest of the children could walk himself, and he tried his best to keep up with them.
He was four years old, born a little while after Mirabel and Hiccup’s victorious return from Berk.
His shag of wavy black hair framed his pouty face, and his bronze-colored cheeks. Still squishy with baby fat. A rather husky child, he was dressed in a dapper outfit. A dark green vest, with a white undershirt, grey pants, and dress shoes. He wore his Sunday best, even on every other day of the week.
His hazel green eyes betrayed his meekness, and they looked so very similar to his father’s.
He was Manuel Madrigal, son of Bruno and Valentina.
A quiet child, who tended not to speak unless spoken to. In stark contrast to the majority of his family, who were quite noisy.
But his reserved nature hid a big heart, and a staunch intolerance for anything he considered unjust. Though a toddler’s opinion of what’s fair and unfair is pretty limited.
He had a great love of books, even though he couldn’t read yet. He’d just look at the words and try his best to interpret them.
He adored it when his father would tell him stories, doing voices and making extravagant movements. And the moment she noticed that her son took more after her husband than herself, Valentina immediately seemed to chill out significantly. She’s been a surprisingly gentle mother
Mirabel made it her personal mission to get Manuel to laugh, every day. Her baby cousin didn’t emote much, which honestly worried some of the older members of the family. But his giggle was the sweetest little thing, and her heart swelled with joy every time she heard it.
The second child they had with them was a girl, just barely a year old. Sitting snugly in the stroller, wrapped in a little orange romper.
Her honey brown skin, brown doe eyes, and fluffy dark hair immediately reminded anyone who saw her of her mother, Dolores. Mariano was overjoyed that his daughter was just as beautiful as his wife.
The first great-grandchild. Born three years after Manuel, Sofia Madrigal was a loud kid. But not because she was crying.
She liked making noises of all sorts. From early attempts to speak, to banging spoons on her highchair, to blowing an inordinate amount of raspberries, or her favorite, singing.
Boisterous, incoherent singing.
In fact, she rarely cried at all. She was a positively gleeful baby, and was almost never caught without a gummy smile. Lighting up whatever room she was in. Sometimes literally, if Pepa was present.
She was immeasurably happy to be a grandmother…until anyone cracked any jokes about her being old.
Dolores never seemed to mind her daughter’s raucous nature, and hasn’t complained about it even once. Such is the strength of a mother.
The final baby was sat beside Sofia in the stroller, and was dressed in his own romper. This one being olive green.
Both rompers were of course made by Mirabel.
With a slightly lighter complexion than his older brother, the same dark wavy hair, and his mother’s brown eyes, he was Bruno and Valentina’s second son.
Born just a few months after Sofia. The current youngest member of the family, Diego Madrigal.
From day one, he was a trouble maker. When Bruno was holding him close, minutes after his birth, he kicked his little leg out. Jabbing his father right in the nose.
Strangely, as soon as he’d done that, he ceased crying. And released his first ever giggles.
He seemed to inherit Valentina’s fighting spirit. If ever he didn’t get his way, he’d slam his little hands on the nearest surface with a glare. In a motion very reminiscent of an invitation to throw down. It was an amusing gesture, and would always garner laughter. Making the baby even more agitated.
And what’s more, he was a total attention hog. Whenever someone wasn’t looking directly at him, he’d start crying. Even if it was only for a moment. He was most at peace when he believed all eyes were on him. Even from such a young age, he craved the spotlight.
Being born so close to Sofia, the two were the best of friends. They’d babble to each other all through the night from their shared bed in the nursery, to Manuel’s increasing annoyance.
Their doors were already present in Casita, awaiting their fifth birthdays.
The house had created an entire new story to accommodate them, and any future children to come. It was quite the shock, when they awoke to find their home suddenly grew a fair bit taller.
And tears were shed, when they realized there was an additional bathroom as well.
Manuel’s gift ceremony was in a year, and he frequently found himself staring at the swirling magical patterns. Letting his imagination run wild.
Their lives were noisy, and definitely messy, but the Madrigals were unquestionably in love with all three of their new additions.
Mirabel, Alma, and the young ones were all out on the town, enjoying the pleasant weather.
Taking in their beautiful village in all its glory. Greeting various passerby, Alma with polite nods, and Mirabel with wild waving.
And stopping to chat with Luisa, who was somehow even bulkier, yet still just as gentle as ever. She was doing her daily chores, along with her Goregutter, Hercules.
Sometimes curious dragons would peer into the stroller, to Alma’s uneasiness, but Mirabel was never afraid. Manuel would hide behind her skirt at times, while the babies would coo and gurgle. Trying to reach up to the reptiles.
In some ways, the town was exactly the same. The same layout, many of the same buildings, the same happy people…
But in other ways, it was entirely different.
The most substantial change being the dragons.
After their initial appearance, the creatures adapted to the Encanto way of life quite well.
They mellowed out, and had much milder dispositions than their Berkian cousins. They never started fights, or burned anything intentionally.
They even seemed to adopt the natural rhythm that was ever-present in the village. Flying and stomping and swaying to the beat they heard not with their ears, but with their hearts.
The villagers had fully accepted them now, and quite a few could be seen in the town at all times. Though not too many, it was a small town after all.
Most dragons resided in the stables, which were more like hotels for the reptiles at this point. Wild ones without riders hung around the jungles that covered the towering mountains, occasionally descending into town if the mood struck them.
Feeding stations had been installed in various places, as well as structures for the creatures to perch on. And a state-of-the-art fire prevention system, of Hiccup’s invention. Some residents had even begun studying the creatures, in hopes of becoming the town’s first ever dragon doctors.
They assisted the community in any ways they could, and had proven quite helpful a number of times. While it was still a small village, they were expanding at a respectable pace.
Things were definitely a bit more frantic, but no one could really say they weren’t happy with it.
With the magic, combined with their draconic allies, the Encanto had only become more prosperous.
As they strolled, the Madrigal matriarch turned to her granddaughter with an enormously proud smile.
“Mirabel, there’s something I think we need to talk about.”
The bespectacled girl looked over, her eyebrows furrowing the slightest bit.
Her tone sounded positive…but whenever someone said we need to talk, it usually didn’t end well…
The old woman continued. “You’re the pride of the Encanto, and I couldn’t be prouder!”
Mirabel grew a wry smirk. “Aw thanks, Abuela. I’m pretty impressed with myself too!” She joked.
“This is serious!” Alma admonished, though she was trying to hide her snickers.
But as her laughter died down, she then grew a very weary expression.
“Mirabel, I…I’ve been leading this town for a long, long time…”
“And while I think I’ve done a decent job, I know I could’ve done better. Should have done better…”
Mirabel listened as she spoke, a bit confused as to what her point was. Manuel listened intently as well.
The old woman sighed. “I’ve been thinking for a while, that maybe I’ve done all I can do for our people…”
Manuel suddenly looked very fearful.
“A-Are you dying, Abuela?” He asked, in his quivering small voice.
Mirabel held him close while he began to cry, as Alma tried to soothe him.
“No, No, Manuel…I’m not going anywhere…” She reassured.
“I’ve just realized that maybe the Encanto needs a new vision, a new leader. Someone young, with fresh ideas, who can lead us into the future…”
She spoke these next words softly, yet they held an incredible sense of weight behind them.
“We need a new Candle Holder.”
Mirabel’s eyes widened, as she realized what her grandmother meant.
Alma was stepping down.
It seemed impossible. Everyone had always just assumed that the woman would be in charge until the day she died, and then somehow she’d still lead from beyond the grave.
Yet here she was, discussing her plans to abdicate the role of leadership.
“B-But, you’ve been running the show since forever!” Mirabel exclaimed. “I mean, who would take your place!? Sure there’s mom, but she’s kind of a softy. And no offense to them, but neither Tia Pepa or Tio Bruno have the dispositions for it. A-And Isabela…”
Her rambling petered out when she noticed the odd look Alma was giving her.
“A-Abuela…?” She tentatively asked, checking to see if there was a spider on her arm or something.
“You’re all grown up, Mirabel!” She beamed. “And there’s no one who cares for our family, our miracle, more than you! I couldn’t imagine a better successor!”
It took Mirabel a second to fully comprehend what had just been said to her.
About fifteen, to be precise.
But when she did, when she finally grasped the implication…
Her eyes bulged out of their sockets, her jaw nearly dropped to the floor-
And she only had two words to say in response.
“Holy shi- “