Chapter Text
~Mari~
The California sun was barely painting the sky when Mari drove into town, humming along to Ain’t It Fun by Paramore on the radio. She was wearing her favorite band sweatshirt, a pair of comfy jeans and a beat up pair of Vans. The sun glinted off her dark brown eyes and copper skin warming her a little bit. Her dark chocolate pigtail braids were becoming undone, and it was starting to irritate her. It was the final stretch of the 3-day drive from Texas, and Mari was ready to get to her destination. Although her father offered to pay for her flight there she decided that she would take this opportunity to make it into an exciting road trip. It was her last tour of freedom before she got shackled down by the weight of homework, extracurriculars and work. It left her with more time to think about how her life was going, the things that were to come and the secrets that she held onto.
When Mari first got the news that she got accepted to Arcadia University she honestly felt indifferent about being accepted to her father’s alma mater. There were other schools of interest that would allow her to follow her passions. She had in fact replied to the acceptance letter from NYU and was committed to attend in the fall. Then the dreams started to haunt her in sleep. While they weren’t quite nightmares, and she has had her fair share of those, these dreams were more foreboding in their nature more than they were terrifying. It was the same dream every night for the past two months.
She was back in her childhood home back in California following her mom around like she used to. Trying to hum along to whatever lullaby she was singing but she couldn’t remember the words too. Then her mom was leaving out the door and into a bright orange light. She tried to follow her but tripped and fell and the world turned black.
She was opening her eyes again but she was still in the dream. A boy with hazel eyes piercing into her soul and a smile on his face. There was a sense of worry traced on his brow as he held out his hand to help her up. A cool energy seemed to exude off of him and she felt safe in his presence. She reached out to grab his hand and pull herself up when she felt ice cold tendrils wrap around her body to pull her away.
Now she was on the street in front of her childhood home and she could see a woman shrouded in gold and shadows. Mari felt disoriented about the whole ordeal but she could tell that something was definitely wrong and evil about the woman in gold. Then she heard the blood curdling scream. At first she couldn’t find where the scream came from and then she saw her primita Claire. She looked older since the last time she saw her and she was in danger. She was surrounded by the same shadows that surrounded the woman in gold but Claire looked sick and afraid.
The rest of the dream came in flashes and blurs. A different boy in a metal suit and the essence of magic wrapped around him. A large and scary black creature with red eyes roaring at her. Creatures made of stone with a variety of limbs, skin tones, body types and eyes. A city underground full of lights made of stone and bursting with life. The sound of baby laughter filtering in between the flashes of images.
Finally she was enveloped in a warm and bright glow, it pushed away all the darkness, made her feel safe. Most importantly it also settled within her bones a sense of purpose.
What that purpose was, Mari had no clue when she woke up. Yet, one thing her mom told her before she left was to always follow her dreams. Especially when they are trying to tell her something.
So when told her father that she wanted to move back to California he was confused. Then ecstatic to find out where she finally decided to attend university. Yet, he had built a whole life in Texas that he simply couldn’t move away from. So he offered to get in contact with his hermano, Tío Javier, who still lived in their hometown to see if they could house her while she attended Arcadia University. They gratefully accepted on the condition that she followed the house rules and helped in the City Council Campaign that Tía Ophelia, her Tío’s wife, was running.
Her father was still nervous to let Mari go all the way to California. She would be leaving the only friends and community she knew well. Yes she would be staying with familia, but it would be a family that she hadn’t really talked to in years. A family that didn’t know about her condition and it wasn’t his place to reveal that to them. He had spent his life trying to make sure that she stayed safe, especially after the disappearance of his wife and her mother. Still, she was now an adult and could take care of herself. Mari reassured him that she would take precautions to keep herself safe and try to stay under the radar; act ‘normal’. As normal as she can be.
Yet, as soon as she entered the city limits of Acadia she felt a wave of power wash over her. It felt like a warm hug and all the best memories came rushing to her. She remembered how she would run in the park till she got tired. Going to the bookstore with her mom, so she could read her favorite fairy tales. Having sleepovers with her cousin were they created little stories that they then performed the next morning for their parents. She forgot how much she missed this sleepy little town. Especially the cool breeze that would shake through the trees, how the sun would warm up her skin and how it felt like she could accomplish anything.
Mari snapped back into reality when she felt a tremble beneath her as she drove over the bridge heading into Arcadia proper. Her first assumption was an earthquake since she was back in California, but something told her it may not be that. She could mind her own business and continue driving, or she could try to sate that little voice in her head to check it out. She lost the battle and pulled to the side of the road to get out of her car with a sigh. She mutters “What happened to keeping to yourself” as she walks to the sidewalk on the bridge. She peers over the edge of the bridge and tries to find the true source of the trembling bridge.
She continues to feel the bridge shake beneath her when she hears roaring. Most people would assume it's some wild animal on the loose and would return to their car. Mari is not most people and stays to try identify where the roars are coming from. They are just too familiar and she needs to know why. She then sees something metallic fling into the canal before it quickly disappears. She tries to find the source from where it came from but whatever is there is directly under the bridge.
The roaring hasn’t stopped and neither has the shaking when she hears a guttural laugh.
“It all ends here.” Threaten whoever had laughed.
Which is then followed by the gruesome yells of pain by somebody else. There were more sounds of struggles and now the first person was now in pain.
Now Mari had a choice: she could either leave and act like she doesn’t know what is going on or she could intervene. However, she had very little information to go off of. Like who side is she on or what kind of adversary and their skill set? But, the most important thing about this whole situation is that she wasn’t supposed to do anything that could expose who she really is. Amidst her internal debate the battle below her rages on. Her attention is brought back to it when she hears the second person struggle to answer back to their opponent.
“No! The amulet will find a champion. We will stop you, and your master. I may end, but the fight will not!” Is the last thing Mari hears before she sees a stony creature in metallic armor, a troll she finally recognizes, flings itself from under the bridge. Instantly petrifying and shattering into a thousand pieces when it hit the floor of the canal. She freezes as she now realizes what was going on beneath her.
Another roar snaps her out of her trance and she wills her legs to move. She quickly runs back to her car and nearly forgets to put her seatbelt on as she tries to speed off that bridge and far away from him. That roar made her whole body tense as she recognized it. She remembers that frightening roar had to be from Bular the Butcher. She remembers the stories about him but she definitely remembers that roar from her dreams. He is a true monster and a threat to anyone in the magical world, a threat to someone like her.
Yet, maybe he was one of the creatures she saw in her dream. “Maybe I am on the right path” she thought aloud as she tightly grips the steering wheel. That meant staying ‘safe and under the radar’ is going to be much harder now if he’s roaming around the town.
“Let's hope he’s the only problem I have to deal with here” she tells herself as she drives to her destination.