꧁•꧂

Flames licked the air and melted the snow around the cottage in the woods that was now blazing with fire. Shouts abounded, coming from the mouths of angry soldiers.

"One is missing!"

One them could be heard saying.

"Find her!"

He added.

"It is time to end this."

But the girl they were looking for didn't turn back. She ran over the cold snow clutching the jewels her family had given her to stash away close to her chest. It was those same jewels that had saved her life. But among the things she ran with was her father's ring, a symbol of his status and who he was.

"She's over here!"

A soldier shouted and the girl whimpered for a moment, thinking she had been found. She took a sharp right and ran in the direction of the darkness, far from the home she had known and far from the life that she had lived for so long. She ran until she couldn't possibly run any longer, and that's what her life became. Running.

꧁•꧂

EN LAS MONTAÑAS DE ENCANTO, COLOMBIA

"My baby getting married! I can't believe it!"

Pepa said sweetly as she reached to embrace her daughter who humbly dodged her arms.

"Mamma you're raining."

Dolores said softly. Pepa nodded with a sniffle.

"You're right you're right!"

She said,

"clear skies clear skies!"

She muttered as she strode away to give her some space and try to get rid of her current rain storm. Dolores couldn't help but smile as she watched her.

"So,"

she turned as her cousin Mirabel approached her,

"are you excited for you big day?"

She asked.

"I am."

Dolores replied but her smile began to fade.

"Dolores,"

Mirabel said as her face softened to an expression of concern.

"What's wrong?"

She asked.

"I hear something."

Dolores said softly to not alarm anyone.

"What?"

"There are whispers in the village."

Dolores told her.

"Whispers? About what?"

"There's someone new in the Encanto."

Dolores told her with a look of focus as she tried to concentrate on the distant voices.

"Who?"

Mirabel asked.

"I don't know. No one seems to know."

Dolores paused to listen again.

"But people are speaking with fear."

She added. She looked down, thinking about these distant and fearful whispers before looking back to her sister, worry in her eyes.

"Mirabel,"

she spoke softly so no one else could hear.

"I'm worried. What does this mean for my wedding day?"

She asked nervously.

"I just want everything to go along perfectly."

Then a thought dawned on Mirabel.

"I know who we can ask for answers."

She took Dolores' hand.

"Follow me."

꧁•꧂

"No I'm not going to help you cheat to win anymore games of canicas with the village children."

Bruno said with a sigh as he turned to face who he thought was Camilo lugging himself up the stairs. But instead he was faced with an out of breath Mirable and Dolores.

"Oh."

Bruno said as he walked over to the entrance of his vision cave to meet them halfway.

"It's just you two. I suppose with my gift I should have seen that coming."

He joked with a grin. The lack of laughter from the girls showed him that his joke was a miss so with a nervous chuckle he ran a hand through his hair before moving on with the subject of their visit.

"So,"

he began as he led them into the cave, which had been restored when the Casita was rebuilt.

"What brings you two to my room?"

He asked.

"We want you to look into Dolores' future."

Mirable said.

"Wedding nerves?"

Bruno asked.

"Sort of."

Dolores replied.

"There's a visitor in the Encanto."

Mirabel said.

"The people in the village are fearful of them. We want you to see if Dolores' wedding will be affected by them and if this visitor is trouble."