5. History Lesson

Hiccup wouldn’t consider himself a master blacksmith or anything, but he was pretty darn good in a forge.

He’s been smithing since he was little. He could readjust the balance of an axe without a problem, he could expertly sharpen a sword to a perfect point. He even had an assortment of inventions he’d designed from scratch. Though the effectiveness of these inventions…varied.

Suffice to say, Hiccup knew he could be of use to a blacksmith.

He certainly wasn’t expecting to be a delivery boy.

He had woken up bright and early, as promised.  Despite his temporary boss’ best efforts, he actually slept pretty well. The boy figured the exhaustion had ensured he’d sleep no matter what.

Deciding to let Toothless sleep, he lightly stepped downstairs to see Ignacio already up and about. Whistling a jolly tune as he packed some items Hiccup couldn’t see into a small crate. He turned to attend to something else, and finally noticed his young guest. He greeted the scrawny teem with a wide grin.

“Hey, good mornin’ kid! Sleep well?”  Hiccup fought the urge to respond with “No thanks to you.” He didn’t mind the jovial man, and decided to keep his sarcasm to a minimum. A nod was his only answer. “Oh! Hold on!” Ignacio moved to the back of the forge, before returning with a strange yellow object in hand. “Catch!” He tossed it to Hiccup, who just barely caught it.

He turned the item in his hands, inspecting it. Bright yellow, slightly green in some areas. With a hard surface and a curved shape.  His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. He heard laughter, and looked back up to the chuckling man.

“It’s a banana, kid. Food! You eat it!” Oh, guess this was breakfast. Nodding his head in thanks, Hiccup brought the banana to his mouth and took a bite. Only his teeth didn’t quite pierce the skin. He removed it from his mouth and frowned at it, flustered. Ignacio’s chuckling turned into full-on belly laughter at the sight.

Wordlessly, he took the banana out of Hiccup’s hands and peeled it before returning it. Laughing the entire time. Ignoring the man, he took another bite.

His eyes shot open; mouth still full. This thing was delicious! Light and fluffy, and just the right mixture of tanginess and sweetness. Quickly swallowing, he took another bite. And another. All too soon, the entire banana was consumed.

This was the first breakfast Hiccup had ever had that wasn’t bland and cold. Why was all the food in this place so good?

“Somebody was hungry!” Laughter finally dying down, he motioned Hiccup to stay put and grabbed the crate he was fiddling with before. Pushing it into Hiccup’s hands. Inside the crate were “Here’s your first job, kid!” He slapped a piece of paper into the crate. “I need you to deliver these boxes to everybody on that list!”

Alright. Not the type of work he was expecting, but he could manage that.

Hefting the not-so heavy crate with great effort, curiosity took hold of him. “What’s in these boxes, anyway?” Ignacio stuck a hand into the crate and lifted one of the boxes out. Gently, slowly, he lifted the cover just enough so Hiccup could see.

It was a spoon.

A couple spoons, actually. All of varying sizes. “I get a lot of spoon orders. There’s a couple knives and forks in there too, but mostly spoons. Don’t know why…” As he placed the box back into the crate, Hiccup felt confusion overtaking him. Looking around the forge once more, he realized something he had missed yesterday.

There were no weapons.

“You don’t make any swords? Or axes, or…anything?” This shocked the man, who swiftly shook his head. “Oh no no no, we don’t do any of that. We don’t need to! The Encanto is a paradise, safe from any intruders.” He paused. “Well, except for you!” he began to laugh once more at his own joke.

The idea was an odd one for Hiccup. A place without war. Without suffering? A place so peaceful they had no need for weapons? It seemed almost impossible, but Hiccup had seen a good bit of the impossible recently. A pair of hands on his back broke Hiccup out of his thoughts. He looked back as he saw Ignacio ushering him to the front entrance. “Now get out there!”

The boy began to exit the forge, turning one last time to call Ignacio. “If I’m gone too long, could you feed Toothless? Cod is his favorite.” The blacksmith now looked rather wary. “Uh, he doesn’t bite, does he?” Hiccup shrugged. “Only if you give him a reason to.” That didn’t seem to assuage the man’s fears. He nervously chuckled as Hiccup made his way into town.

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A problem presented itself almost immediately. As he walked away from the forge, Hiccup picked up the list to find out who his first delivery would be.

Only one issue. He couldn’t read it.

The letters were all foreign to him, the note resembled more a jumbled mess of shapes than any cohesive language he’d known.

He groaned, there was no way he could deliver anything at this rate. Literally one minute into your first day on the job, and you’re already blowing it. Great job, Hiccup the Useless.

The boy thought about running back to Ignacio to ask for some help, but he shut the idea down. Not wanting to see the disappointment in the man’s eyes as he realized the boy couldn’t be asked to do one simple thing without screwing it up. He’d gotten enough of those looks to last a lifetime on Berk. He didn’t need any here.

He would have to tough it out.

He lugged the crate into town. Many villagers gave him wary looks, or pulled their children closer as he passed by. Though some greeted him politely, to which he would reply in turn.

A thought struck him. How come he could understand these people fine, and they could understand him, but he couldn’t read their language? He chalked it up to “magic”, and kept moving.

As he walked further into town, thoughts focused on his dilemma, he noticed Luisa out and about. He considered greeting her, but he figured she wouldn’t want to see him after yesterday’s fiasco. Though on the other hand he really should formally apologize for Toothless’ behavior-

His thoughts froze as he observed her lifting an entire building with just her hands.

He stood there for a moment, completely still. Eyes wide and jaw agape. But as his mind regained its functions, he began to think this wasn’t entirely surprising.

After all, just yesterday he was interrogated in a living house. Held captive by a woman who could control plants.

Was she a witch too? Were witches abundant in the Encanto? How many other witches were there?

And what about other mythical creatures? Were Fairies real? Giants? Trolls? Was Gobber right about Trolls?

“She’s amazing, isn’t she?”

He nearly jumped as another voice cut into his rapid-fire thoughts. Thankful he didn’t drop the crate, he turned and looked to her. Already knowing who the voice belonged to.

“Morning, Mirabel.” He greeted, a bit more awkwardly than intended. Her smile widened, and she responded in kind. Hiccup then answered her question. “Yeah, that was crazy. I had no idea Luisa was a witch…” The girl snorted, before pushing up her glasses and stating “You have got to stop calling my sisters witches.” Hiccup was getting confused. What does she mean? There was no way Luisa was that strong naturally, she had to be using magic. Making her a witch. And even then-

Wait a minute.

“Sister? Luisa’s your sister?” Mirabel nodded, glowing with familial pride. “Yup! Luisa’s my older sister, and so is Isabela!” The familial pride faded a bit at the mention of her eldest sister.

Now that he thought about it, he could see a bit of a resemblance between the three. But that didn’t solve the other mystery. “Alright, but how are they not witches? They’re doing magic!” Mirabel’s head tilted to the side at the query. Did he not know? Hold on, of course he didn’t know! He’s been here for one day, and most of that day he was tied up in vines!

Mirabel felt a jolt of excitement, explaining the history of her amazing family was one of her favorite things to do. And she didn’t get to do it too often.

She grabbed Hiccup’s shoulders; the boy stiffened from the movement. “Let me show you!” She cheerfully said, before turning him around and shuffling him to the Madrigal Family Mural, which was conveniently nearby.

As Hiccup looked at the mural, he recognized several faces. There was Miss Alma, holding a candle. Luisa, Isabela, Julieta, and of course Mirabel. He also thought the youngest boy seemed familiar, quickly realizing that was the boy he had seen with Toothless. He hoped he wasn’t too shaken…

The remaining few however he didn’t recognize at all. And that’s where Mirabel came in.

She gestured to the wall with both her arms, proudly displaying her family. “Behold, the magical Madrigals!”  Her voice shifted to a dramatic tone. “50 years ago, many people were forced from their homes by violence…” War and suffering, Hiccup was used to this. “Homeless and terrified, they travelled far. Looking for somewhere safe to live. Among those people were my Abuela Alma, and my Abuelo Pedro. Along with their three newborn babies…” He took a seat as she continued her story.

“One day…” Her expression became forlorn, “A group of soldiers arrived on horseback, ready to attack. My Abuelo Pedro…sacrificed himself so Abuela and the others could escape.” Hiccup felt a tug at his heart. “Abuela was heartbroken, and she fell to the ground in tears…” Her face lit back up. “But then…we were blessed with a miracle!” Hiccup’s brow furrowed and his nose scrunched, a silent plea to elaborate.

“A candle, a magic candle, appeared!” She began vividly gesturing to get her point across. “Light burst from the candle, blasting the soldiers away!” Good riddance, Hiccup thought. “From the earth, colossal mountains rose and surrounded the area. Protecting them from invaders!” Except for him, he thought again. “Around my Abuela, a house built itself from nothing. A magical house, a living house. Our Casita!” The idea of living in a house that was alive disturbed Hiccup, but seeing the love the girl had for the building, he figured it couldn’t be that bad. “With that, our paradise was born. The Encanto!”

“But that’s not all!” She faced the mural once more. “The magic wasn’t done. On the fifth birthday of Abuela’s children, all three of them got magical gifts!” She then pointed her finger right at Hiccup’s round nose. “Got that? Not witchcraft, magical gifts.” He waved her off. “Alright, alright. I get it! No witches here.” Though internally he decided to keep calling Isabela a witch, if she kept acting like one. Satisfied, Mirabel nodded and continued.

“Here’s the fun part!” With glee, she pointed to the mural. First to the woman Hiccup recognized as Julieta. “You remember my mama, Julieta? She healed your wounds with just an arepa! Anything she cooks becomes top class medicine!” The boy’s eyes widened at that. He was so worked up over the taste, he didn’t even notice his cuts stitching and his bruises fading. “I just thought it was really, really good food…” Mirabel responded with a laugh. “Well, it doesn’t hurt that her cooking’s delicious!” Hiccup had no arguments there.

She then pointed to a woman Hiccup didn’t recognize. With light skin and bright red hair, wrapped in a poppy yellow dress. Adorned with sun-shaped earrings. “This is my mom’s sister, my Tia Pepa!” Hiccup presumed Tia meant aunt, he didn’t quite understand all of their words yet. “Pepa can control the weather with her emotions. When she’s happy, it’s literally sunshine and rainbows! When she’s upset…pack an umbrella.” The boy was a bit awestruck. This woman had the power of a God! At first, he thought that this was someone he definitely didn’t want to anger, but then he remembered the sudden thunderstorm that started as quickly as it stopped yesterday during the incident. He feared he was already too late.

Next she pointed to a thin man, wavy black hair framing his scruffy face. Decked in green, and holding an hourglass. The most unsettling thing about him was his bright, glowing eyes, that Hiccup swore were looking right at his soul. “My mom’s brother, Tio Bruno- “Hiccup jumped with a yelp as several villagers interrupted her by chanting, “We don’t talk about Bruno!” All at once. Mirabel whispered to a jittery Hiccup. “They say he could see the future. But one day, he just disappeared. No one knows where he went.” She shrugged. Looking back at those unblinking eyes, Hiccup came to the conclusion that he’d rather avoid meeting this man if he could.

He knew this one, who could forget Luisa’s hulking frame and gentle eyes? Mirabel explained Luisa and her super strength, listing several of her most amazing feats. Lifting an entire building without breaking a sweat is definitely amazing. He was suddenly very glad she didn’t fight his dragon, he didn’t think the Night Fury would’ve survived the encounter.

Next up was another woman he recognized, Isabela, whose gift was making plants bloom. Mostly flowers, though Hiccup associated her with vines more than anything else. He noticed the slightest hint of a sneer on Mirabel’s face as she detailed her eldest sister’s abilities. “She makes flowers. But her real gift is being unnaturally perfect at everything, and then rubbing how perfect she is in your face...” He sensed some familial tension, but decided not to mention anything.

“There’s also my Tio Felix, who married Pepa. And my Papa, Augustin.” She elbowed Hiccup playfully. “They’re not on the mural, which is a shame if you ask me because they’re great!”

A girl with a dark complexion, pouty lips, doe eyes, and her hair tied in a cute little bun was next in line. “My cousin Dolores can hear everything in the Encanto! She could hear a pin drop from a mile away, she’s probably hearing us right now!” Hiccup didn’t share her enthusiasm. “Isn’t that, I dunno, a massive violation of privacy?” She brushed his comment off. “Eh, you learn to live with it.” The boy was positive he wouldn’t.

Then, a boy similar in age to both Hiccup and Mirabel. Draped in bright yellows, with a mischievous smile on his face. “My cousin Camilo can shape-shift! He can transform into an exact copy of someone!” The boy took note of his devious smirk, and was reminded of a pair of smirks he’d grown up knowing. “He just uses his gift to prank people, doesn’t he?” She nodded, eyes half-lidded. “Pretty much, yeah.”

Finally, she pointed to a young boy. The same boy Toothless was supposedly playing with. “This is my cousin Antonio, the youngest Madrigal. He doesn’t have a gift, but he’ll get one soon! In a couple days, he’ll turn five, and he’ll be given a gift just as special as him!” Hiccup could sense the adoration in her voice, she must’ve really loved the kid. This only made Hiccup feel worse.

“Hey uh, I hope Antonio isn’t too upset. You know, after yesterday…”  Mirabel’s answer surprised him, however. “On no, he was fine.” Hiccup blinked, not expecting this. “R-Really?” “Yeah, he was telling us at dinner how nice the scaly puppy was. How he wanted to play with him more, but then everyone started shouting. And how he wanted to see him again.” As the girl spoke, Hiccup grew more and more relieved. “If anything, he’s upset at us for not letting them play more. You should’ve seen Tia Pepa’s face.” She finished with an amused huff.

Hiccup allowed himself to relax a bit, at least he hadn’t traumatized a child. Mirabel finished her presentation with a flourish. “And that is my family, the magical Madrigals! Since that day, 50 years ago, we have devoted ourselves to serving this community and all who reside in it with our gifts. To preserve our miracle, our Encanto!” Her story finally finished, Hiccup indulged her with a few claps, and she took mock bows. But hold on, she missed someone. Someone he’d think she wouldn’t gloss over, considering it was her own self. “What about you? What’s your gift?”

Mirabel fought the urge to cringe. There it was, the question she hated. A reminder of just how unremarkable she was compared to her family. But she wouldn’t lie to the boy.

“I…don’t have a gift.” She crossed her arms, and awaited his response. Usually pity, sometimes some mockery thrown in.

Hiccup saw the flash. The brief flash of sadness in her eyes, that feeling of unworthiness. Of trying so hard to avoid being branded a disappointment, a failure, a hiccup. He knew those emotions all too well.

He just shrugged and said, “Alright.” And that was all.

Not the reaction Mirabel was expecting. She searched his eyes for a glimpse of what she was used to. A hint of pity, judgement, mocking amusement. She found nothing. Nothing but understanding.

A faint smile graced her lips once more. “Well now that story time’s over, what are you up to?” The boy frowned at the question, reminded of his earlier misfortune. He reached into the crate and pulled the note out. “I’m supposed to deliver these boxes, but I can’t read any of this. Because of course nothing can ever be easy for me…” As he grumbled, Mirabel looked at him with mild shock. He couldn’t even read their language? He must be from far outside the Encanto.

…How was he understanding her? How could she understand him? She chalked it up to “magic” and moved on.

Eyes sparkling with newfound purpose, she snatched the note from Hiccup’s hand. “Don’t worry, Hiccup! I’ll help you with those deliveries. Because unlike you, I can actually read!” He frenetically tried to defend himself against her teasing. “Hey! I can read! J-Just not that!” She taunted him once more in response. “Whatever you say...”

Picking up his crate and following Mirabel, the two playfully squabbled their way to the first address.