Live To Serve, Serve To Live

Chapter 1: Bruno's Vision (Bruno's Decision)

Bruno loved his family. When he had been unsure of everything else in his life, including their love for him, he had still been sure of that one fact. He loved his family.

And he was a danger to them.

The villagers did not like Bruno. Those that did not think he was cursed thought that he cursed others. Those that thought neither thought he was lazy. There were quite a few that thought all three.

Hate was perhaps a strong word, though. None of the villagers wished him pain or death. They were good people, mostly, and the worst among them just wished for him to go away.

He tried to ignore the ones that wished he would go away back to Hell or wherever else they thought he came from. Dolores was less forgiving than he was. As was Pepa.

Which was the problem. His family, their eyes open to each other's issues, were becoming much better about being there for each other. Which included protecting him. Even when he was locking himself in his tower and couldn't even hear the insults in the first place.

("You shouldn't have to hide yourself away, Tio!" Mirabel would say, which confused him. He wasn't hiding himself away. He came down for meals, played with his sobrinos y sobrinas, had long chats with his hermanas and Mama... He even spent time with Felix and Agustin! So what if he was avoiding every other living being on the planet, wasn't his family enough?)

This protection was beginning to make the town weary. Accidental destruction was one thing, bad as it was, but flat-out threats? No, this was not going to end well.

Bruno had stopped taking requests for visions, but that did not mean he had rejected his Gift entirely. After ten years not purposely using it, his magic was itching under his skin, begging to be used.

So he used it, trying to figure out what would become of his family should the villagers continue to dislike him, and should the others continue to protect him. It took him a few visions to piece it together, but he eventually figured out the grim truth.

He had been prepared to see the forms of his family, cold and dead or even dying, bloody or even downright gory. He had spent hours talking with his rats, trying to psych himself up enough to do the ritual anyways, and then hours more calming down Dolores after she overheard him.

Finally, he managed to start his visions.

He saw death. So much death. But not of the Madrigals.

People with vines growing through them, broken in half like twigs, burnt to a crisp by lightning, torn apart by animals... He saw the village turn on those he loved, and the high cost the Madrigals would pay for their survival. The best he saw, everyone else was run out or his family ruled with a much more iron fist than before. They wouldn't have a choice.

Bruno seriously considered running away again. It wouldn't have to be far, he could even live in the walls again! But, well, they knew about that now and would look there...

He could always change his clothes and hair, use a little makeup, and pretend to be someone else. He likes acting, after all. No, he decided, he'd be caught the first time he gave in to one of his, er, tics.

He could leave the town. He'd lived in a wall amongst rats for a decade, he could survive on his own. Probably. Maybe. Whatever, it was to protect his family, so it was worth the risk.

His family... They'd come after him this time. His hermanas had missed him too badly the first time around to lose him again, and his amazing sobrinos y sobrinas weren't going to let him go without a fight. The moment he started walking towards the exit, Dolores would sic Isabela on him.

He could fake his death? Maybe if he had his rats make a loud enough noise somewhere else, Dolores wouldn't hear?

Oh, but then his family would mourn. That would hurt them. All these plans would hurt them, in fact. He hurt them so badly when he first disappeared, a fact that he still hadn't forgiven himself for and was quite shocked they had forgiven him for. He couldn't do that to them again. He couldn't hurt his family.

He loved his family.

That and the rats were his only two constants in life.

Which left him with one other choice; make the villagers like him.

It sounded like a monumental task, but he already knew how to do it. He was a Madrigal, after all, and Madrigals had a surefire method for getting people to like you when they would otherwise hate or even fear you; selfless, dedicated, happy service.

He just needed a way to serve without his Gift.

Easy, right? Surely he had some skills outside of visions. He had to have.

Right?