Giftless Luisa got into a lot of fights as a kid 😭 she hated (and still hates) being called useless and a fake. She got picked on a lot, because she always quick to fight back. A lot of kids thought she was an easy target, but she wasn't afraid to stand up for her siblings or cousins
Luisa had it pretty bad, I'm not gonna lie. Isabela and Dolores had their birthdays close together, so they had each other and most wouldn't gang up on them because they adults were always near them. By the time Camilo, Mirabel and Antonio came along, the village already expected them to not get a gift. So they essentially just ignored them and pretended they don't exist.
But Luisa? Alma was convinced that she would be the one to save the miracle. That Isabela and Dolores were just unlucky and Luisa was gonna be the one to finally get a gift after 30 odd years. Luisa was actually convinced the same thing as well. Alma had convinced the poor girl that she was gonna be the one to save the miracle 😭 she told the rest of the village this. Her ceremony was this whole thing and everyone was incredibly disappointed when she didn't even get a chance to touch the door, let alone get a gift. And the adults weren't really there to protect her because Alma kept forcing them to do chores and to keep busy. And they listened because they didn't want her to focus her passive aggressiveness to the kids. Better she just leave them then make little comments on theur lack of powers and what not.
Anyway yeah. She had it pretty bad 😭 one of the reasons she started working out and trying ti get stronger, because, even in this au, she hates feeling weak and hates when people try to pick on her. Now nobody really messes with her. Like I said before, Giftless Luisa is pretty damn confrontational 💀 she doesn't have super strength, and while yes she is stronger than any average person, she isn't gonna snap their spine or anything.
Alright lemme stop yapping holy crap
"Luisa?" Pepa had simply walked into the nursery to gather up clothes for the laundry she was about to do and to gather the kids for lunch. She hadn't even expected anyone to actually be in here. "Luisa what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Luisa jumped at the sound of her tia's voice, sniffing as she wiped her eyes. "No...I...it's nothing,"
Pepa set down the basket, walking over to the girl and bending down. She brushed her hair aside, tilting the her head up so they she could looked at her. Thunder cracked as a cloud formed above her head.
"Luisa!" She quickly cupped the girls face, doing her best not to touch the very large, very purple bruise on Luisa's face. "Luisa, what happened? How did you get this bruise?"
Luisa winced as Pepa's fingers brushed against the skin. It was barely a whispered, but the pain was still there. "I...I'm fine, it's nothing."
"No, it's not fine! Why didn't you go to your mother? Why are you just sitting here with a bruise? How did you even get this?" Pepa shot off questions, quickly searching over Luisa's body for more injuries. She noticed how her poor niece winced when her hands ran over her back. "Luisa. Turn around."
Luisa tried to scoot away, wiping more tears from her eyes. "N-No. It's fine."
"Luisa!" Pepa snapped, thunder cracking with. She immediately regretted t upon seeing Luisa flinch, pulling away. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. Just...please?"
Luisa fiddled with her fingers, though Pepa made no move to rush her or force her to turn around. Slowly, carefully, the younger turned, her body language painfully clear. She was trying to hide something. Finally, her back facing her aunt, she spoke softly. "Please don't be mad."
Pepa closed her eyes for a moment, doing her best not to cry before carefully unbuttoning the back of Luisa's top. She gasped, and watched as Luisa peeked back, her face full of guilt. Pepa's hand moved, but she didn't dare touch any skin. It was horribly bruised. Like she had been shoved, hard and multiple times at that. It was already turning purple. It had to have happened today, because if she had eaten dinner last night, she would've been healed. It made sense too, because just like her father, Luisa bruised easily.
"Luisa," Pepa's voice was as watery as her eyes. "What...when did..." Luisa quickly turned back around, moving to button the top back up. She looked incredibly guilty. As if this was her fault. As if she did something wrong.
"There were these kids. They were saying that...that I was a curse," Luisa hiccuped, bitting her lip as she tried to hold back tears. "They said that I was supposed to save the family. That I was supposed to get a gift because Isa and Lola didn't."
Pepa watched as Luisa start weeping. She kept rubbing her eyes. They were already swollen, and her voice was raw now that Pepa was listening close. Her nose and cheeks were flushed red, where they hadn't been bruised.
"Oh Lu," Pepa pulled the girl into a hug. She didn't even flinch when she gripped her dress so hard she would probably tear the fabric if she was any stronger.
"T-they said that Isa, Lola and I were cursed!" Luisa buried her face in her aunt's shoulder, her voice becoming muffled. "They said...they said that since I didn't get a gift, then I must be a fake. That I wasn't a real Madrigal!"
Pepa was fully storming now. She was doing her best to shield Luisa. She wanted nothing more than to just make her gift go away right now. At least for the moment. So she could properly comfort her niece. So she could hug her and smother her in kisses and not worry about getting her wet.
She finally managed to calm the storm enough to get rid of the rain, though the cloud was practically black woth Pepa's rage and sadness, still flashing with lightning. "So...these bruises...you...?"
Luisa wiped her eyes again. "I didn't mean to. I got so angry," she looked down at her hands. "There was three of them, and only one of me."
Pepa brushed some wet hair that had fallen over Luisa's face. "Why didn't you go to Julieta?"
Luisa hesitated. "I didn't want to worry her."
Pepa was entirely unconvinced. She was still hiding. Luisa's eye was twitching and she was a terrible liar. "Luisa. You and I both know that's not the reason why. You're mother is always worried about you. Especially you and the younger two."
Luisa looked up, before sighing. "I went in line with everyone else. But before I could get to the front of Mamí's table, Abuela caught me."
Caught. Pepa's storm sharpened. Caught? Caught?! What, now their own children couldn't even get in line to get some healing food? From their own aunt, their own mother? And that brought up another issue. Pepa leaned forward, doing her best to look at Luisa.
"Lu, why didn't you just jump ahead? Why didn't you go straight to your mamá? I'm sure she would've been happy to give you food, even if you weren't hurt," Pepa asked, her confusion visible. Better Luisa see the confusion than the anger.
Luisa sighed again. "Abuela told us that we couldn't just jump ahead. She said we weren't anyone spec—...em, we didn't deser—er, need special treatment," Luisa's eye started twitching again. "She said we either needed to go to the back of the line or just wait until lunch. So I was just gonna wait till lunch."
Pepa's face was unreadable. She was doing everything in her power not to storm back out into the courtyard and screaming at her mother. Wait? She was making her own grandchildren wait to be healed? By Julieta? Not to mention Luisa was obviously lying about what her abuela had actually said. But she didn't want to pressure the girl.
Pepa carefully acooped up Luisa, carefully to not press to hard on her. As she walked to the door, Luisa buried her face again. Pepa only pet her head, pressing a kiss into her hair. "Oh Luisa. You don't ever have to wait. If you're hurt, or even if you're just hungry, you can skip ahead. We won't get mad."
Luisa pulled back slightly, pouting. "But Abuela-"
Pepa's face darked as she shushed Luisa. "I don't care what your abuela says. If she has a problem, you tell me or Julieta and we will handle it. Do you hear me?"
Luisa looked unsure, but ultimately agreed. She nodded, resting her head on Pepa's shoulder. "Tiá?"
Pepa moved slowly through the hall. "Mija." Pepa felt Luisa's grip on her dress tighten.
"Promise you won't stop loving us. Even if we don't ever have gifts." Luisa whispered. Pepa only stopped for a few seconds. But Luisa simply tugged at her dress again with one hand, and gently pet her braid with the other. A habit the little ones had picked up. "Please."
Pepa simply kept walking, rubbing her back. "Always."
Ohhhhhh my gosh, Pepa my goat. She would strike down Alma, but she also knows that (despite everything), the kids look up to Alma and care about what she says
They really do just want her approval and attention. Alma does love them, a lot, but she just...doesn't really know what to do with them?? They have no gifts, so she kinda just leaves them to theur own devices
I was gonna color this but I got lazy and hungry and I gotta clean 🧌
