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motomamisbizcochito · 1 year

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Holding Back(Namor x Latina!OC)

Pairing: Namor/Maritza Stark

Rating: T for now but will go up to M in future chapters

Word Count: 10,027

Contains: Mentions of religion, superstitions, and spiritual cleansing

Summary: Maritza Stark had a strange encounter on the beach when she was seven during a family summer vacation in her mother’s hometown. The encounter became forgotten after her mother’s untimely death a few months later, her entire world spiraling out of control. As an adult she dismissed the encounter as a child’s overactive imagination. Years later when her father lands himself in a conflict with the king of an underwater kingdom, she starts to realize maybe she wasn’t as imaginative as she originally thought.

Author’s Note: The first fic I’ve ever posted on Tumblr🥳 This is a work in progress so there will be many future chapters. This is just the first of many. I loosely based it off the song ‘Holding Back’ by BANKS. I’ve been listening to her album Serpentina a lot while writing this. Really recommend listening to BANKS. I think she’s one of the most underrated artists. I will also be posting this fic on fanfiction.net and archive of our own. Sorry if the Spanish is bad in this chapter. I’m not entirely fluent and there’s also a spiritual cleansing mentioned in this chapter. I’ve never personally had one but I based it off a video of one I saw and the story my mom told me about the one she had when she was a little girl. Hope you enjoy the chapter!!!

Chapter One

2004

Punta Allen, Quintana Roo

Mexico

“God, could it be any fucking hotter,” Tony Stark grumbled as he and his longtime girlfriend walked along the shore of the seaside Mexican town. The same town his girlfriend originally hailed from. Years before she made it all the way to the US and years before she met him at a UCLA college party of all places.

“Stop your whining,” Yesenia told him as she rolled her eyes, walking arm in arm with Tony as she watched the waves roll along the sandy beach. “I know you hate being away from the lab, but you promised you’d participate in the family vacation.”

“I know I promised that but that was before I was sweating my ass off in Mexico,” Tony complained, and Yesenia knew her boyfriend was a big baby.

“Just try…if not for me then for Maritza,” Yesenia said, gesturing towards their seven-year-old daughter. Tony followed her gaze and he swallowed hard when he noticed their daughter collecting seashells on the sandy beach only to deposit them in her beach pail. “She needs normal family things like this. She needs normalcy period.”

“You’re right,” Tony admitted even though he still found the heat and humidity unbearable. He would much rather be in the lab back home, but he couldn’t deny this was nice. Quality family time. Unlike what he experienced during his own childhood. Not even his mother could manage to pull Tony’s father from the lab and Tony promised himself this would be different. His daughter would never have a childhood like his.

“Daddy, look at this one,” Maritza said, running up to Tony excitedly and showing off the seashell she just found. The little girl was a replica of her mother. The same brown skin, same smile, same nose, same eyes, and even the same laugh. Although she did get her dark brunette hair color from him. Tony already knew he’d probably have to play the overprotective dad part when she got into those dreaded teenaged years.

Something he wasn’t looking forward to.

“Oh wow…another shell,” Tony said, trying to sound impressed and Maritza pouted.

“It’s a conch shell,” Maritza said as if he should’ve known that. Tony nodded, recognizing the name and shape when she informed him of that.

“Right. The one where you can hear the ocean through it,” Tony said, and Maritza giggled.

“Silly. You can’t hear the ocean through the shell,” Maritza said, placing the shell in Tony’s hand and he looked down questioningly at the shell. “Air’s trapped inside because of the shape. You hear the air’s vibrations.”

“Huh…I didn’t know that,” Tony said before Maritza simply giggled before running back down the beach to find more shells. Tony glanced at Yesenia who just smiled.

“See? There are things not even the great Tony Stark knows,” Yesenia joked as she grinned at him and Tony scoffed. “She’s like you by the way. She just knows things.”

“Great. It means she’ll probably be a smart ass like me too,” Tony said with a joking tone, but it was clear that he was worried about her. She was already like him. More advanced than most kids her age. She was already at a seventh-grade reading level at the age of seven. Tony knew how isolating it could be being a Stark and being intellectually superior to kids your own age. It was very lonely. Tony had hoped that she wouldn’t be like him. That she would be a normal kid.

However, it was becoming obvious that wasn’t the case. She was like him. A true Stark.

In more ways than one.

“Good thing she’s way cuter than you,” Yesenia teased him, and Tony just rolled his eyes as they continued along the shore. Not noticing the pair of eyes that followed them from the ocean as the small family went along their way.

“I’d say she’s more like you. Interested in all that under the sea stuff,” Tony retorted, and Yesenia giggled. The young couple were oblivious to the pair of eyes as it would seem.

Maritza looked up and squinted her eyes as she thought she saw something in the distance. She hoped it was a dolphin. Maritza dreamed of seeing a dolphin, but she blinked a second later and whatever it was disappeared. She noticed some driftwood floating nearby and figured that the sun must’ve played a trick on her eyes.

The small girl went back to seashell hunting without further thought.

“There’s an old legend passed down from parent to child over many generations, you know. I told it to your mother and my mother spoke of it to me,” Maritza’s grandmother Palmira told her as she tucked the small girl in for bedtime. A tradition that always happened whenever Maritza and her parents visited her grandmother. Her grandmother would always tell her stories. “A cautionary tale.”

“What legend?” Maritza questioned, her curiosity getting the better of her as it always did. It seemed like Maritza was a little too like her father in that way. Her grandmother smiled at her only grandchild.

“The one of K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza’s grandmother told her, and Maritza furrowed her eyebrows at the sound of the strange name. “Which is what the Mayans, our ancestors, called him and the Aztecs called him Quetzalcoatl. The winged feathered serpent. A god to our ancestors but something else to everyone that ever lived here. He possesses many more names. Some not as kind.”

“He’s a snake?” Maritza asked in distaste. She hated snakes. Something about the way they slithered around creeped her out. “A giant snake? A giant flying snake? Abuela, that’s my worst nightmare.”

“He’s more man than snake,” Maritza’s grandmother said with a knowing look in her eyes. As if she knew this information firsthand.

“Who? Kuku?” Maritza questioned, completely butchering the name. Her grandmother smiled in amusement but shook her head.

“K’uk’ulkan,” She whispered but raised a finger to her lips. “But never speak his name too loud or you’ll summon him.”

“Why? Is he bad?” She questioned.

“He’s worshipped as a god in many parts of Mexico but it’s only in the small villages near the ocean that know the truth of K’uk’ulkan and his fury with those who live in the surface world,” Her grandmother told her, and Maritza was hooked on her every word. Her grandmother’s stories were always so interesting and different from the ‘Goodnight Moon’ type books her dad would read her before bedtime. “K’uk’ulkan lives at the bottom of the ocean. In his own kingdom. Every so often he’ll come to the shore to claim the lives of those of us who live on land as a ploy for vengeance. He and his people sing a song, luring the surface people into the ocean where they sink to their deaths.”

Maritza watched her grandmother with wide eyes.

“He is said to seduce beautiful women, luring them to their deaths as well,” Palmira listed off before meeting her granddaughter’s eyes. “And he even comes from the ocean to claim the lives of misbehaving children. He takes them to the bottom of the ocean with him. Only never to be seen again.”

“Yeah, right,” Maritza said, laughing nervously. “You’re just saying that to scare me. It’s the same thing as Mami and Daddy telling me to behave, or Santa won’t bring me any presents.”

“Believe what you want, Mi Nieta,” Palmira said before continuing. “But the legend of K’uk’ulkan is well known around here. He is to be respected but never acknowledged and you never want him to ever acknowledge you. Because once he sets his sights on you then that’s it. You’re destined for a cursed death. Never to escape K’uk’ulkan’s wrath.”

Maritza gulped fearfully and despite her logic, she was terrified of the tale her grandmother just told her. Terrified to think there was some monster that lived in the ocean just outside her grandmother’s house that would lure her to the ocean and drown her, not caring if she was just a child. A sea monster that liked killing people simply because he could.

“Yeah, but that’s only here. Right, Abuela?” Maritza asked hesitantly. “He wouldn’t be in Malibu, right?”

“The ocean is a big place, Maritza,” Her grandmother answered vaguely, and Maritza felt her heart hammering in her chest.

“Mami, you’re not telling Maritza about K’uk’ulkan, are you?” Yesenia questioned in disbelief as she leaned against the doorway. Tony raised his eyebrows questioningly as he joined Yesenia.

“Cuckoo who?” Tony questioned and Yesenia rolled her eyes.

“Not Cuckoo. K’uk’ulkan,” Yesenia elaborated as she tried to explain her mother’s superstitions to her very rational and very white boyfriend. “He’s a Mayan deity and a cautionary tale around these parts. Something parents tell their kids, so their kids behave. Like La Llorona or El Cucuy.”

“Daddy, Abuela said that he’s this monster that lives in the ocean and he hates people on land, so he lures them to the ocean and drowns them. Even kids like me,” Maritza rambled on, and Yesenia gave her mother an annoyed look. Tony just looked amused. “That once he sets his sights on you then you’ll never be seen again.”

“Mami!” Yesenia said in anger. “I can’t believe you told Maritza that. She’s going to have nightmares now. She’s going to regress. We finally got her to sleep in her own bed.”

“Don’t worry, Ritzy,” Tony told his daughter nonchalantly. “This Cuckoo guy would take you to the ocean for two seconds before you talked his ear off so much that he ended up sending you back.”

Maritza didn’t look very comforted by her father’s words and Yesenia smacked his shoulder. She didn’t find it very amusing that her mother probably traumatized their daughter into never sleeping again. Especially not with the ocean right outside the house. Yesenia remembered the nightmares she had as a child after her mother told her the stories about K’uk’ulkan. She couldn’t believe her mother did the same thing to Maritza.

“Mami, we’re having a serious conversation about this tomorrow morning,” Yesenia said seriously to her mother as her grandmother left Maritza’s side to join the other two adults leaving the room. Tony paused as Yesenia and her mother exited the small guest room.

“Daddy, don’t close the door,” Maritza begged and Tony smiled softly before nodding.

“I’ll leave the light on too,” He promised, and she returned his smile, grateful for that. Being enveloped in darkness right now wasn’t really what she wanted.

“Night, kiddo,” Tony told his daughter. “Don’t give that Cuckoo guy another thought. It’s not possible for anything like that to live in the ocean. You’re a smart girl. You know that. The scariest thing down there is a shark, and they definitely can’t walk on land.”

Maritza nodded, comforted by her father’s words of logic.

“I know,” Maritza said softly, feeling a lot better. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tony told her. “Sleep tight.”

With that, her father left the room and Maritza listened to the patter of his footsteps down the hall. She nestled deeply into her covers. The heat was long gone at this time of night and now she just felt the cool ocean breeze.

He was right.

K’uk’uklan wasn’t real.

“Maritza…”

Maritza turned around in the darkness, but she didn’t see anything.

“Maritza…” The voice said again. It was a whisper that sounded both soft and aggressive at the same time. It chilled Maritza right to the bone. “Maritza, come here.”

“Who is it?” Maritza called out in the darkness. She didn’t know where she was or where her parents were.

“Maritza…” It hissed and Maritza’s jaw dropped as the voice finally revealed itself. Maritza looked on in horror as an enormous snake slithered out of the darkness. The girl trembled in fear as the creature lurked closer.

It was the worst thing Maritza could ever imagine. Scarier than any nightmare she had before. The creature’s eyes glowed red, its scales were withered, its feathered wings were stained with what looked like blood, and its sharp fangs gleamed under what little light remained in the room. It’s very appearance stroke so much fear into Maritza’s heart that she remained frozen to the spot.

“W-what do you want?” She stuttered, trying not to scream. The creature smirked at her, venom dripping from its fangs. “K’uk’ulkan.”

“Silly child,” he whispered to her. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to say my name.”

Maritza whimpered as he came closer.

“What do you want?” She whined, unable to contain herself. Maritza felt that she was being toyed with. He was toying with her. He chuckled.

“A meal,” he said softly, and Maritza’s eyes widened in horror as he opened his mouth, displaying all his sharp teeth. Maritza screamed as she tried to move…to do anything to get away from the terrifying creature but it was useless. Her feet didn’t want to move.

She was stuck.

“Mami! Daddy!” She screamed in a ploy to get help. The creature just seemed amused.

“It’s useless. They’ll never hear you from down here,” he told her smugly. It was only then that Maritza noticed where she was.

It was alarming she hadn’t noticed it before.

Maritza gasped in surprise at the ocean floor beneath her. Air bubbles escaped her as she struggled to move through the water. K’uk’ulkan started laughing, his eyes glowing an even brighter red.

The gigantic sea creature then reared its head back as if it were getting prepared to strike.

Maritza shielded her eyes, blocking her view of K’uk’ulkan. The sight was too terrifying for her eyes to even comprehend.

“I’ll make it quick.”

K’uk’ulkan lurched forward and Maritza screamed.

“Maritza!” Yesenia exclaimed as she raced into the room followed by Tony and her mother. The small girl was a crying mess. “Maritza! What’s wrong, Mija? What’s wrong?”

“He was going to eat me, Mami!” Maritza cried, sobbing as her mother gathered her in her arms. The poor girl was trembling. Tony rested his hand on her back, looking concerned about his daughter.

“Who was going to eat you?” Tony asked with a furrowed brow. Maritza hiccupped before answering.

“K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza whispered, and Yesenia immediately sent her mother a heated glare. “He said he was going to eat me, and you guys wouldn’t hear me if I called for help because we were at the bottom of the ocean.”

“See?” Yesenia said in an accusatory tone. “I told you not to tell her about those silly K’uk’ulkan stories. Now she has nightmares.”

“I’m getting really tired of hearing about this Cuckoo guy,” Tony grumbled and both Yesenia and her mother glared at her.

“K’uk’ulkan.” They both corrected in unison before Yesenia’s mother glanced at her.

“These stories are told here. You know that,” the older woman said sternly. “It’s tradition.”

“Well, it’s not a tradition I want for Maritza,” Yesenia said seriously. “She’s not from here. She’s American. It’s different there. These superstitious tall tales were normal to me but they’re not normal to her.”

“I told her about K’uk’ulkan because she walks too close to the sea,” Palmira warned, giving her a serious look. “It’s not good for children to walk that close to the sea.”

“Because she’ll drown?” Tony questioned, not understanding her meaning. He rarely did. Tony didn’t know his girlfriend’s mother that well, but he knew her well enough to know that she didn’t like him. She didn’t favor the fact that Tony still hadn’t married Yesenia even after they had Maritza. She also didn’t like the fact that Tony was an atheist and made that very clear to him on a daily basis. “Palmira, we’d never let Maritza go down by the water by herself. She doesn’t go anywhere by herself. You know that.”

“She’s drawn to the water. She feels it’s pull,” Palmira was quick to say. “It’s not good. Not for here. People around here that are drawn to the water disappear. Especially women.”

“What?” Tony questioned incredulously. “You’re not actually saying you believe in this water guy, right? We’re all grown-ups here. We don’t believe in sea monsters.”

“Tony’s right, Mami,” Yesenia said, fixing her mother with a look. “K’uk’ulkan isn’t real. He’s a myth.”

“He might not be real to you in California, but he remains real here,” Palmira said, not backing down in her belief of K’uk’ulkan. Yesenia just shook her head.

“Whatever. Let’s just enjoy the rest of our vacation here and quality family time while putting this behind us,” Yesenia said, wanting to move on from K’uk’ulkan. “If I hear another mention of K’uk’ulkan then we’re going home. I’m serious, Mami.”

Her mother said nothing. Just remained silent in the doorway of the small room while her daughter glared at her, and Maritza remained trembling in Yesenia’s arms. Tony looked worriedly between the mother and daughter.

“Maritza, why don’t you sleep with Daddy and I tonight?” Yesenia said sweetly, as she rubbed her daughter’s back soothingly. “Does that sound nice?”

“I guess,” Maritza said in a small voice. Yesenia gave her daughter a small smile as Tony immediately picked her up from the bed.

“God, kid, you’re getting heavier and heavier,” Tony told her as he began to carry her from the bed. That seemed to get a small giggle out of Maritza. A good sign.

Palmira just watched her daughter and granddaughter leave the room, an unreadable expression on her face. Yesenia didn’t hide the glare she gave her mother as she walked by.

Palmira knew that Yesenia forgot where she came from.

That much was obvious.

Because K’uk’ulkan was nothing to be scoffed at. Not in this small seaside town. He was real. Frighteningly real to the town’s residents and everyone lived in fear of him and in fear of making him angry. Every time a storm hit the small town; the townspeople were scared if it was K’uk’ulkan letting his fury be known.

Or perhaps a warning.

A warning that he would lure more towards the sea to never be seen again.

K’uk’ulkan was never mentioned again during the Almanza-Stark family vacation. Even though Maritza continued to keep thinking about that nightmare and her grandmother’s story. Her interest in K’uk’ulkan had morphed from fear to curiosity. She wanted to ask her grandmother more questions about K’uk’ulkan but didn’t want to risk getting her grandmother in trouble with her mom so kept her questions to herself.

Still…she remained curious as she always gazed over at the ocean during family outings on the beach.

Her grandmother mentioned she was drawn to the sea and seemed concerned that made her more vulnerable to K’uk’ulkan. That people drawn to the sea were more likely to be his victims. She was seven but she wasn’t stupid. She knew there must’ve been some legend or story that made that certain quality a sign of being at the mercy of someone like K’uk’ulkan.

The seven-year-old had become quite obsessed with K’uk’ulkan. It had changed from being scared of the mythological sea monster to wanting to find him. Like he was a unicorn or bigfoot or even the Loch Ness monster. Maritza was determined to catch a glimpse of K’uk’ulkan.

Instead of searching the beach for seashells, Maritza now searched the beach for clues that might lead her to K’uk’ulkan. She was determined to find evidence of the mythological creature’s existence. Especially after seeing how serious her grandmother had been about the story. Like her grandmother was so certain that he existed. It was almost like her grandmother herself was afraid of him.

Her parents lounged on beach towels, soaking up the sun but Maritza was obsessed with finding clues. She didn’t know what she was looking for exactly. If he really was a feathered serpent, then perhaps he shed his skin like snakes did. Well, Maritza was really just basing her knowledge off that Harry Potter movie but still…

Maritza found a dead jellyfish that had been washed up along the shore and she found a couple discarded beer cans that were littered by tourists more than likely but not snake skin. It’s not as though it would leave footprints if it was a snake either.

Maritza was growing frustrated in her hunt for K’uk’ulkan.

“Mija, what are you looking for?!” Yesenia called out and Maritza didn’t even look up from the water. She was standing ankle deep in the water as she started moving rocks and seashells around with a piece of driftwood she found along the shore.

“K’uk’ulkan!” Maritza said nonchalantly as she continued combing through the sand for anything that indicated that K’uk’ulkan had been there.

“Are you kidding me?” Yesenia hissed under her breath as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her daughter who was poking at the sand with a stick. “This again? I’m going to have another talk with mom about-“

“Relax,” Tony said as he stopped Yesenia from getting up from the ground. Probably stopping her from running off to her mother for another argument. “Just leave her be.”

“Leave her be? Anthony…our daughter is currently hunting a non-existent sea monster that gave her a nightmare she woke up crying from the other night,” Yesenia said, angry at the situation. “I need to talk to my mother about this.”

“Does Maritza look scared?” Tony questioned, trying to stop another argument between Yesenia and Palmira. “She’s fine. This is healthy. She’s not scared of the Cuckoo snake thing anymore. Now she wants to hunt him and publish her discovery of a new species in National Geographic. This is how she’s overcoming her fear. Totally normal.”

“I don’t know,” Yesenia said, sounding unsure. Tony nodded.

“This is very normal. She’s an imaginative kid,” Tony reassured her. “Just be grateful she’s not building a robot like I was when I was her age. She’s a normal kid. Perfectly grounded. I’m seventy percent positive she’ll be a well-adjusted young woman someday.”

“Seventy percent sure?” Yesenia questioned and Tony shrugged,

“Well, she is a Stark, after all,” Tony said as if this was very factual stuff. “There’s never a hundred percent guarantee that anything will ever be alright.”

“I guess you’re right but she’s not from here like I am,” Yesenia explained, still looking concerned. “I grew up here. I’m used to all the superstitions and stories. I mean, I don’t really believe in them but at the same time I do. I’ve just always known how to separate urban legend from reality. It’s different for Maritza and you don’t believe in any of that stuff. Not a single part and I’ve never told her the stories my mother told me. She’s a sensitive child. I knew they would traumatize her and especially because I haven’t raised her in that culture. These stories could be very real to her.”

“You’re worrying too much,” Tony told her, and Yesenia knew he was right. She was worrying too much. It was just that coming back home was making her remember all the things she grew up with. Not something she really wanted for her daughter. To be scared to death of a mythological man who haunted the sea. “This is normal kid stuff. Hunting imaginary monsters. It’s good for her get out and enjoy some fresh air. We can’t really afford to do the same thing back home with all the media frenzy. This is good.”

Yesenia relented.

She realized he had a point.

They didn’t have the luxury of going out very often back home. Tony had gained the media’s interest in his younger and much wilder days. Not to mention he dated his fair share of pretty California girls. There was much public interest in his personal life which followed him when he started dating Yesenia Almanza. A young marine biology major at UCLA.

The attention magnified after it was discovered Yesenia was pregnant with a third-generation Stark. Potential genius and future heiress to Stark Industries. Tony and Yesenia had hoped the attention would die down, but Maritza was seven and it didn’t seem like the media attention was dying down any time soon. It wasn’t often they could leave the house and do normal family things.

“You’re right. I’m being crazy,” Yesenia confessed, and Tony shook his head.

“You’re not crazy. You’re protective. There’s a difference,” Tony comforted, and Yesenia rested her head against his shoulder.

“Thank you, Anthony,” Yesenia said, and Tony smiled, always hating being called that by anyone else but he loved the way his name sounded on her lips. “I hope you know you’re going to have a nasty sunburn in a couple hours because you forgot to put on your sunscreen.”

“What? No way,” Tony denied. He didn’t really bother with sunscreen between the smell and the dork he felt like whenever he wore it. “I feel fine. The sun feels nice on my skin.”

“Anthony, you’re so white,” Yesenia said, giggling as she looked at him. “You’re definitely going to burn. I’m going to spend the entire night rubbing aloe vera all over you.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Almanza,” Tony quipped, and Yesenia just rolled her eyes before giggling again. Tony leaned over and stole a kiss. Yesenia happily kissed him back, running her hand through his hair. Usually at this point Maritza would make some exclamation about how gross they were but the small girl was too occupied with looking for K’uk’ulkan.

“Let’s let the kid wear herself out looking for Coco Puff and then we’ll work on giving her a little brother or sister tonight,” Tony joked, and Yesenia laughed again before smacking his shoulder. “What? She’d be so happy. She keeps whining about getting a little sister.”

“You’re awful,” Yesenia said although the smile didn’t fade from her face. Tony loved her smile. The way it lit up her whole entire face. Her dark eyes glimmered with warmth and somehow pulled him in further into her atmosphere. Tony wasn’t complaining.

“You love it.”

And she really did.

Maritza waited until it was dark and everyone in the small seaside house was asleep.

She knew they were asleep. The sound of her parents’ laughter died down just before midnight and she could hear her father’s snores from all the way down the hallway to her room. Maritza fought hard to stay awake, knowing the only way she was going to find K’uk’ulkan was if she went along the beach under the cover of darkness.

K’uk’ulkan obviously wasn’t going to appear in broad daylight. He was going to come out in the dark. Everyone knew that sea monsters only came out at night.

Maritza gathered her things.

Her K’uk’ulkan hunting materials. Hunting materials which included her mother’s dissection kit, a pack of crayons, a magnifying glass, and a disposable camera. Technically she wasn’t allowed to touch her mother’s dissection kit but if she found K’uk’ulkan then maybe her mother wouldn’t care.

Everything was stuffed into her Finding Nemo backpack. Her heart was racing with excitement. Her first adventure by herself…well, first adventure doing anything. Her parents rarely let her out of the house back home. The people with cameras were way too intrusive or, at least, that’s what she always heard her mother say to her father.

But there were no cameras here.

Everything was quiet.

Maritza crept through the house, butterfly net in hand as she tried to remain as quiet as possible. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the ocean outside the small house. There was a moment when Maritza was convinced that her father woke up, but she merely heard him shift in his sleep before she heard more snoring.

She snuck out the door and she was free at last.

Maritza half expected her grandmother to catch her. Her grandmother who was always very sneaky, but it didn’t happen. Her grandmother didn’t show up and Maritza was outside in the dark with only the moonlight shining down through the darkness.

The air was still warm but there was a cool ocean breeze through her hair. It felt nice. A lot nicer than the severe heat felt throughout the day. Maritza admired how beautiful the ocean looked at night.

So calm and quiet.

Much different than during the day.

Maritza focused. She had to focus. She came outside to find K’uk’ulkan and she was determined to find him. Maybe not capture him because Maritza was grossed out by snakes, but she was going to catch a glimpse of him. Maritza refused to go back to the house without finding at least one clue that K’uk’ulkan left behind.

“If I were K’uk’ulkan where would I be?” Maritza asked herself as she walked along the beach, gripping her butterfly net tightly in her hands.

Maritza wasn’t sure how long she was out there looking for K’uk’ulkan clues. Maybe an hour. She just knew she was growing bored and tired looking for K’uk’ulkan in the dark. It was starting to seem no different than looking for him in the daytime.

She was close to starting to call his name in the dark even though her grandmother warned her not to say his name too loudly. Very close to giving up and calling for him to see what happened when something strange occurred.

Something very strange.

Maritza was near some palm trees that lined the beach. She was a distance away from the waves calmly caressing the sandy shores. Not just because her parents warned her not to go near the ocean without them but also because a part of her was still scared K’uk’ulkan would sneak up behind her and drag her into the ocean like her grandmother warned.

The strange thing occurring happened to be an individual coming out of the water.

Not just coming out of the water like a swimmer coming back up for air either.

Maritza witnessed a man come out of the water like he’d just gotten back from a nice, brisk walk. No gasp for air or any sign of exhaustion from swimming. He walked out of the water with far more grace than she had ever witnessed in her short life. Maritza’s eyes widened as she quickly dove behind a large piece of driftwood on the beach.

But like most times, her curiosity got the better of her.

She couldn’t refrain from not spying on the mysterious man who had come from the ocean.

Maritza peeked over the top of the driftwood to catch a better look at the strange man. It was a bit difficult to see through the dark, but the moonlight illuminated him well enough. She watched him with interest. She had never seen a man who looked like him before. Well, that wasn’t true. If she didn’t know better, then she’d say he looked like any one of the men she’d seen around town. His skin color just as dark as her mother and grandmother’s skin color if not darker.

That wasn’t what made him different.

It was the way he dressed. The way he carried himself. The man wore a pair of shorts. She would’ve said they were swim trunks, but they were embellished at the waistline with what looked like a gold belt. His chest was bare except for an extensive amount of beautiful jewelry that hung around his neck, capturing Maritza’s eye. What was even more curious to her was the large piercing through his nose.

Cool.

Maritza watched in awe because she had never seen anyone like him. He looked to be around her father’s age but wasn’t anything like her father or any man she had ever seen before.

Almost as though he sensed her eyes on him, he turned in her direction and Maritza’s eyes widened before she quickly ducked down. Praying that she hadn’t been seen.

Maybe he hadn’t seen her.

Maybe she was quick enough that he hadn’t caught her spying on him.

“I know you’re there,” his voice said. His accent was unlike any accent Maritza heard. Nothing like her mother and grandmother’s accent which proved to her that he wasn’t a local. “Show yourself.”

Maritza felt fearful.

What if this man told on her to her parents? Maritza would be in so much trouble. Her parents would never let her go outside again.

“Come now,” he said gently and though she couldn’t pinpoint his accent, his voice was strangely calming. Maritza was lulled from her hiding spot, and she immediately got up from her hiding spot to confront the strange man.

The man seemed almost surprised to see her.

As if he were expecting someone else. He chuckled at the sight of her, and Maritza felt almost offended.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed asleep, little one?” He asked her and Maritza nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I cannot imagine your parents would be pleased to find you out here at this time of night.”

“They’re asleep. They don’t know I’m out here,” Maritza didn’t know what compelled her to say that. She couldn’t describe the hold his gaze seemed to have on her. It was almost as if she was unable to stop herself from saying everything.

“And just what are you doing out here?” He asked and Maritza could tell he was amused by her. The same way her father was amused by her childish antics. She didn’t know why but she didn’t like it. It made her feel like he thought she was a joke.

“I’m looking for K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza said confidently, and the man looked her up and down for a moment, eyeing the butterfly net in her hands before breaking out into laughter. He acted like Maritza just told the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

“And what do you intend to do when you find him? Catch him with that net?” The man questioned and Maritza frowned. She was seven but she could tell when she was being made fun of. Mostly because her dad liked teasing her a lot and she could tell this man was doing something similar.

“Well, I don’t know…I haven’t planned that far ahead. I just want to see if he’s real,” Maritza elaborated, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you have to know if he’s real?” The man asked her, sincerely curious. Maritza shrugged.

“Just because,” she answered, and he snorted.

“Just because?” He pressed and Maritza nodded.

“People act like he’s real, but he sounds too silly to be real, so I have to know if he’s real or not. I want proof,” Maritza explained, and the man nodded, crossing his arms as he spoke to her.

“Why do you need proof? Can’t you just accept that he’s real and move on?” He questioned and Maritza looked at him like he was crazy.

“No,” she said as if that were a dumb suggestion. “I need evidence. Daddy always says that you need to back up your hypothesis with evidence or else it will never hold up.”

The man took a step closer to Maritza and the small girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“What if I told you I was K’uk’ulkan,” he told her, and Maritza shook her head.

“You’re not K’uk’ulkan. K’uk’ulkan is a magical flying snake,” Maritza said, sounding very sure of herself. “You’re a man.”

“You sound disappointed,” he observed, and Maritza took a step back. “I assure you that I’m not a snake.”

“All the books say that K’uk’ulkan is a serpent,” Maritza informed him, and he chuckled.

“Books can be wrong,” he retorted, and Maritza frowned because she didn’t understand that. To her, written words meant truth. If something was written on paper, then it must be true.

Right?

She never thought a book could be wrong.

“I don’t believe you’re K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza said stubbornly. She felt as if the man was playing a trick on her.

“What can I do to make you believe I’m K’uk’ulkan?” He asked calmly but the amusement still twinkled in his eyes. Maritza was stumped. It was only then she realized how little she knew of K’uk’ulkan. She was uncertain of any special traits other than the fact he was some sort of water serpent that flew.

“I don’t know,” Maritza confessed. He just smiled. He knelt down on one knee in front of her so he would match her height. Not that he was very tall. Maritza thought he was shorter than her father but still much taller than herself.

“Perhaps K’uk’ulkan has ears like these,” he said, and Maritza took a glimpse at his distinctly pointed ears. Ones that she hadn’t noticed before through the darkness. Elvish ears. She looked on in wonder. “And perhaps he has wings like these.”

He glanced down at the ground and Maritza followed his gaze, her eyes widening as she noticed the small fluttering wings seemingly attached to his ankles. Something she had never seen on a person before. Maritza was vaguely aware of something called birth defects, but she didn’t think these could be described as a birth defect. They were way too cool. Both his wings and ears.

“Cool,” Maritza said in awe. The look of amusement didn’t fade off his face. “Can you really fly with those wings? Do they work if they’re wet? Have you always had them? Were you born with them? How do your ears work? Do you hear better than most people?”

“You ask a lot of questions, little one,” he told her and Maritza gave him an impatient look. He didn’t answer a single one of her questions.

“Are you going to eat me?” She questioned bluntly and she was so blunt that it surprised the man…or K’uk’ulkan as Maritza was quickly discovering.

“What?” He questioned in surprise.

“My abuela told me that K’uk’ulkan eats children who misbehave,” she told him, and he chuckled. There was a look on his face that indicated that he knew something Maritza didn’t which bothered the small girl. She didn’t like not knowing things.

“And have you been misbehaving?” He asked her nonchalantly. Maritza looked slightly guilty.

“I snuck out of the house to look for you. I’m not allowed to go places by myself,” Maritza said honestly, and she hesitantly took a step back. He didn’t look like the type to eat children. K’uk’ulkan wasn’t scary looking at all. However, she knew that looks could also be deceiving and maybe he really did eat kids. K’uk’ulkan nodded.

“Well, since you’re being honest, I suppose I can forgive your misbehavior just this once,” K’uk’ulkan said, humoring the small child. “I also just had dinner so I’m not particularly hungry at this moment in time.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly, relieved that she wasn’t going to be eaten. K’uk’ulkan then gave her a serious look.

“Although you should not wander away from your parents,” he told her sincerely. “Not at this time of night. It’s not safe for someone your age to be wandering around the dark. You would do well to listen to your parents’ wishes.”

“Fine,” Maritza said although she didn’t seem happy about his advice. It’s not like she was going to argue with him. He was sparing her life by not eating her. She’d rather not push her luck. “Do you really live underwater?”

“The questions never end, do they?” He retorted, still amused by her nosiness.

Maritza was about to ask him another question when they were interrupted by the familiar voices of both her mother and father. She realized she must’ve been gone for a while. Her father was a restless sleeper and more than likely discovered her absence when he woke up as he did numerous times during the night.

“Maritza!” She heard her mother call out. “Maritza, where are you?”

Maritza was about to call out to her mother that she was fine. That she found K’uk’ulkan and all was right in the world when something stopped her before she could.

“Diablo!” Palmira Almanza exclaimed in horror. Maritza turned to see her grandmother standing a short distance away near the palm tree. Maritza looked at her grandmother in confusion, not understanding the terror on her face. “Diablo!”

“Abuela, I did it. I found K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza said excitedly as she tried to introduce her grandmother to her new friend. However, Maritza’s so-called new friend seemed unfazed by her grandmother’s name calling. He stared back at the elderly woman coldly before standing up from the ground. “He’s not a snake at all. He’s a person. See?”

“Aléjate de ella! No la toques!” Palmira started saying hysterically in Spanish. Maritza wasn’t well versed in her mother’s native language, so she didn’t quite understand what her grandmother was saying. Only that she was scared. “Tu maldad no puede tocar a alguien con un alma pura, Namor. No puedes quitarle su alma. Aléjate, Namor!”

“Mami! Tony went looking behind the house,” Yesenia called as she joined the three of them on the beach. “Have you found-“

Yesenia stopped midsentence as she saw the man standing in front of her daughter locked into a staring contest with her mother. Only it wasn’t just a man. Under the moonlight, Yesenia could make out his pointed ears and the wings attached to his ankles. The jewelry he wore around his neck also indicated to Yesenia just who he was.

She heard stories growing up. Especially in a town as small as the one she’d grown up in. In fact, Yesenia’s father, a now deceased fisherman, had once claimed to have seen K’uk’ulkan during a fishing trip. Yesenia had always dismissed her father’s story as another drunk tale of his but maybe her father wasn’t just some drunk telling tall tales.

Because K’uk’ulkan looked exactly as how her father described.

Exactly how many people around town had described him.

The few that had managed to capture glimpses of him over the years.

Yesenia was frozen to the spot as she stared at the being she previously thought was just an urban legend. She started feeling fear wash over her. All her mother’s stories coming to mind and just how close her daughter now stood to the man. Yesenia managed to gather her bearings enough to try to get her daughter away from him.

“Maritza!” Yesenia said, her eyes fearful. “Maritza, get over here. Now!”

“But Mami…I found K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza started to say, and Yesenia was growing more terrified by the second. Terrified that K’uk’ulkan would take her daughter into the ocean with him and she would never see her again…or Namor as some liked to call him.

“Maritza, get over here now!” Yesenia snapped and K’uk’ulkan broke his staring contest with Palmira to gaze down at Maritza. His gaze softened as he looked at her, reminded of the small children in his own kingdom. Children who were much too curious for their own good.

“I would go to your mother, my child,” he told her softly. Maritza nodded slowly.

“Okay,” she said, sounding disappointed. She still had more questions for him, after all. “Bye, K’uk’ulkan.”

“Goodbye,” he told her. Palmira continued to glare him down as Maritza returned to her mother’s side. Yesenia quickly grabbed on to her daughter and held tightly on to her as though she were afraid K’uk’ulkan would come back over and steal her.

“Mantente alejado!” Palmira hissed at him. “Mantente alejado, Namor! No te acerques a la chica! Malvado! Malvado!”

Yesenia continued to stare wide eyed at him, nearly trembling in her place. It was the equivalent of finding out the bogeyman was real. For so long, he was a thing of stories that her mother used to tell her but now he was real.

K’uk’ulkan acted as though Maritza’s grandmother wasn’t screaming at him. It was the strangest thing. He ignored her as he simply headed back to the water. Maritza watched curiously as he waded back into the water, her mother clutching her to her side tightly.

He was waist deep before he turned to the three generations of Almanza women. K’uk’ulkan locked eyes with Yesenia. Maritza heard her mother gasp.

“You should keep a better eye on your daughter…her father being who he is. A lot of people would want to hurt her,” K’uk’ulkan told Yesenia in a grave tone. “I don’t wish to see Tony Stark here again. He’s a risk. Your mother will tell you what happens when there’s a risk to my people.”

With that, K’uk’ulkan turned his back to the three of them wading further into the water until he was fully submerged. Maritza was disappointed when he disappeared from sight. There was so much more she wanted to ask him.

Yesenia and Palmira remained frozen to the spot. Neither of them moving as they stared at the quiet and calm waves flow back and forth along the beach.

“Why were you mad at K’uk’ulkan, Abuela? He was really nice,” Maritza questioned, breaking the silence. That seemed to snap her mother out of her state of shock. Yesenia immediately glared at her daughter.

“Maritza, what have I told you about talking to strangers?!” Her mother snapped and Maritza’s eyes widened in fear. She realized she was more than likely in trouble. Her mother was furious. Maritza didn’t think she had ever seen her mother look so furious. “And leaving the house by yourself? What if something happened to you…well, something did happen.”

“I just wanted to find K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza said quietly. “And I did find him. I don’t know why you and Abuela were being so rude to him. He was nice to me.”

“K’uk’ulkan is not nice,” Her mother told her sternly. “He’s evil. You heard the stories your grandmother told you.”

“You said those weren’t true,” Maritza argued, and her mother shook her head.

“Well, they are true. K’uk’ulkan hates people who live on land and takes them with him to the bottom of the ocean any chance he can get,” Yesenia told her daughter, trying to get her point across. “He’s evil, Maritza. To see him is a curse.”

“Daddy said there’s no such thing as good and evil,” Maritza retorted, and Yesenia huffed.

“Evil exists here and it exists in that water,” Yesenia said, and Maritza was confused. She didn’t know why her mother and grandmother seemed so terrified of K’uk’ulkan. He didn’t do anything to her. He didn’t eat her, attack her, or lure her into the ocean with him. She had the feeling K’uk’ulkan had been teasing her, but he hadn’t seemed evil to her…just normal. Aside from his ears and wings.

“Daddy’s not going to believe I actually found K’uk’ulkan,” Maritza said, oblivious to her mother and grandmother’s fear of the man that just disappeared into the water. “I can’t wait to tell him.”

“No!” Palmira said sharply, breaking out of her stunned stage. “You must not tell your father.”

“Abuela’s right,” Yesenia said before locking eyes with her daughter. The seriousness in her gaze was enough to capture Maritza’s attention. “You can’t tell your dad.”

“Why not?” Maritza questioned and Yesenia swallowed hard. She could see the fear in her mother’s eyes, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about seeing her mother so scared.

“He wouldn’t understand,” Yesenia said softly. “K’uk’ulkan doesn’t like people talking about him, Maritza. It’s why people from this town don’t speak of him outside of it.”

“But he’s amazing. People should know-“ Maritza started to say but her mother stopped her. The look in her eyes made Maritza freeze. Her mother looked so scared. It unnerved the small girl.

“Promise me that you won’t speak of this ever again,” Yesenia pleaded with her. “Not to your father and not to anyone back home. This is serious, Maritza. No one must know. You don’t know how dangerous it was for us to see him. It’s not good, Maritza. It’s bad. Very bad.”

“Mami, I-“ Maritza tried to interject but her mother wasn’t having it.

“Promise me,” Yesenia said, eyes filled with tears and her mother was right. Maritza didn’t understand her mother’s fear of the man she just met. “He’s not a good man. He’s not even a man.”

“Evil,” Palmira added, caressing her cross pendant. She looked equally as terrified as Maritza’s mother. “Evil. We’re all cursed.”

“Mami…” Yesenia hissed, glaring at her mother before returning her gaze to Maritza. “Maritza, please promise to not speak of this again. For me.”

Normally Maritza would refuse. Her mother often said she inherited her father’s stubborn streak. Yet the look in her mother’s eyes made Maritza feel scared. It was terrifying to see your parent terrified. Someone Maritza had always viewed as a protector and above things like fear.

Maritza swallowed hard.

“Yes,” Maritza said quietly, and her mother raised her eyebrows.

“Yes, what?” She pressed and Maritza sighed before continuing.

“Yes, I won’t speak of K’uk’ulkan ever again. Not even to daddy and not to anyone back home,” Maritza promised, and Yesenia was satisfied with her answer, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her daughter. She was just happy that Maritza was safe and away from danger. Yesenia could not describe how terrifying it was to see her daughter standing so close to a creature she had heard terrifying stories about.

“Don’t ever do that to me again, okay?” Yesenia whispered as she held her daughter tightly. She didn’t know what she would’ve done if K’uk’ulkan had taken Maritza with him into the ocean. There were stories of that happening before. Yesenia never really believed in K’uk’ulkan. Not since she was a little girl, but he became real the second she saw Maritza standing so close to him.

He was no longer a thing of tall tales and legends.

He was real.

“You’re going to be grounded for a very long time,” Tony told his daughter as they packed their things the next day. Yesenia demanded that they leave at once. She was spooked after their encounter with K’uk’ulkan…or Namor as others called him. Tony didn’t know why she wanted to leave so suddenly but figured she must’ve gotten into another argument with her mother. It was no secret that the mother and daughter duo didn’t get along very well.

“That means no video games, no Legos, no TV, and no ice cream,” Tony lectured her which was out of character for him. Usually, it was Yesenia who was the disciplinarian but Yesenia had been strangely silent ever since the sight before after returning to the house with her mother and Maritza.

“No ice cream?” Maritza whined, not liking the sound of that. Tony nodded.

“Yes, well you should’ve thought of that before you went out alone last night looking for the chicken man,” Tony told her sternly and Maritza grew quiet again at the mention of K’uk’ulkan. She normally would’ve corrected him about the name, but her mother had scared her into never mentioning the pointy eared man she saw the night before. Her mother paused in packing the clothes at the mention of K’uk’ulkan. Or Namor as her mother and grandmother insisted on calling him now during the hushed whispers, she heard on the way back to the house from the beach.

“When’s the flight?” Yesenia asked quietly and Tony turned his gaze away from his daughter to look at his girlfriend.

“Eleven…” Tony told her, not knowing why she was acting off. He couldn’t really explain it, but she was unusually quiet and not her bubbly self. “But the plane leaves anytime we want. We could leave sooner if you want.”

“Okay. We’ll leave sooner then,” Yesenia said decidedly before leaving the room to go retrieve their items from the bathroom. Tony stared after her for a second before shrugging it off and returning his attention to Maritza.

“Don’t ever do that again,” Tony told her seriously. Her father was not a serious man, but she could tell he was serious this time. He was usually quite humorous. Amused more often than not but it was clear she had scared him. “You don’t know the area well and there’s dangerous people out there. Not to mention the fact that you could’ve drowned. You’re not the strongest swimmer, Ritzy.”

“I know, Daddy,” Maritza said quietly, looking quite ashamed of herself. She was ashamed because she went looking for K’uk’ulkan and now her mother was so spooked that they were leaving Mexico sooner rather than later. Maritza liked it here. It was quiet, sunny, and her father didn’t have a lab to lock himself away in. It was so much different than home. “I’m sorry I left. I won’t do it again.”

“Good,” he told her as he zipped up his suitcase. “You really terrified your mom. I’ve never seen her like this before. Now go grab your stuff from the guest room. Your mom really wants to leave soon.”

“Okay,” she said obediently before trotting off to her room to do as her father instructed.

Maritza passed by the bathroom as she was leaving. She noticed her mother hunched over the sink, eyes squeezed closed and fingers gripping a rosary tightly in her hand. Vague whispers came from her mother’s mouth. Maritza recognized enough Spanish to know her mother was saying some sort of prayer.

It spooked Maritza.

Maritza had never seen her mother like that before. She never really thought of her mother as religious, and her father definitely wasn’t religious at all. Maritza knew her grandmother was but never her mother.

Maritza quickly moved past the bathroom and headed to the guest room. The sight of her mother lost in prayer somehow more terrifying than the encounter the night before.

She didn’t understand it.

Why her mother and grandmother were so scared. Yes, K’uk’ulkan was different but there was nothing scary about him. No fangs, claws, or horns. He was just different and what was so scary about that? Maritza wasn’t even sure if he really ate children like the legends said. Not that she knew what someone who ate children looked like, but it definitely wasn’t K’uk’ulkan.

They acted like he was evil…but he didn’t seem evil.

He seemed normal.

“Maritza,” Maritza’s grandmother said as she walked into the guest room, breaking Maritza out of her thoughts. Palmira closed the door behind herself quietly. Maritza glanced up at her. “I need to give you something before you leave.”

“What is it, Abuela?” Maritza asked curiously as her grandmother sat next to her on the bed. Her grandmother grabbed her hand and placed something cold and metallic in it. Maritza glanced down.

“This was my grandmother’s,” Palmira said, and it was a silver cross pendant with a blue gem in the center. “She gave it to me when I was your age and now, I’m giving it to you.”

“It’s so pretty. Especially this,” Maritza said, admiring the blue gem in the middle.

“It’s aquamarine,” Her grandmother informed her. “There used to be an old legend that said aquamarine was taken from the treasure of mermaids to protect sailors from the sea. It’s also said to protect the wearer from evil spirits and demons.”

Maritza knew this was about K’uk’ulkan. She wanted to tell her grandmother that he wasn’t evil, and everything was fine, but she knew her grandmother and mother didn’t believe that.

“My grandmother grew up in a different time in this small town,” Her grandmother explained, a faraway look in her eyes. “A time when the men of this town started hunting the creature from the sea. The one who made boats vanish. The creature they called Namor. There were those that thought of him as a god…K’uk’ulkan but my grandmother only knew him as the devil. A lot of those men disappeared as a result. Including my great-grandfather.”

Palmira swallowed hard before locking eyes with her granddaughter. Maritza was so young and innocent that she couldn’t understand the gravity of what occurred the night before.

“Promise me that you will wear this necklace and never take it off,” Palmira told her seriously. “I fear that you’re cursed now that you’ve come face to face with the devil. The necklace may be your only protection from him.”

“But-“ Maritza started to say but her grandmother cut her off with a stern look.

“Promise me, Maritza,” Her grandmother demanded, and Maritza sighed before relenting. She nodded and her grandmother took the necklace from her hand, immediately putting it on her. Maritza obeyed her grandmother without another word. “Never take it off. There are not many that have seen the devil of the sea and lived. Your ancestors didn’t.”

“I promise I won’t take it off,” Maritza said honestly and her grandmother seemed satisfied with that. She glanced down at the necklace, examining the pendant. It was beautiful but Maritza was left even more confused about why it was needed.

Some sort of protection against someone her grandmother was convinced was the devil.

Was K’uk’ulkan really the devil?

Maritza felt like a person would know if they came face to face with the devil, but she honestly didn’t know. She pictured something red with horns and a tail to be the devil. Something cartoonish and terrifying but that wasn’t K’uk’ulkan. He didn’t look like how she pictured the devil to look like.

If anything, she was more confused than before. Maritza had come face to face with something her mother and grandmother were convinced was evil. She just wasn’t sure.

But her mother was.

A couple days after they returned to California, and Maritza’s father was back in the lab, her mother drove her to an old building almost two hours away. Her mother told her it was called a Botánica. Some sort of store that was different than any store that Maritza had ever seen before. Filled with candles, herbs, and statues of saints. It was some sort of cross between Diagon Alley and the Vatican.

Her mother didn’t explain much to her but the older woman at the front of the store led them to the back to a room that was dark except for an abundance of lit candles and incense. It had been very terrifying, and the woman instructed Maritza to shut her eyes then proceeded to say what sounded like a prayer in Spanish as she rubbed water into Maritza’s skin while Maritza’s mother watched quietly, clutching her rosary tightly in her hand. Water that was mixed with herbs as Maritza’s skin had a very odd scent afterwards. A scent that would be forever etched into Maritza’s mind.

It was a spiritual cleansing which Maritza found out years later as she described the memory to a friend of hers who’s parents were from Honduras.

The cleansing went on for a short while, but it might’ve as well have been years. Maritza remembered being terrified as the woman spoke in hurried Spanish and harshly rubbed the herbal water into her skin before running some sort of broom over her body. It ended with one last prayer and with seven-year-old Maritza with her tear-stained cheeks as her mother led her out of Botánica.

Her mother didn’t say anything on the drive back.

They both sat in silence in the car for the long car ride home.

With the cleansing, the topic of K’uk’ulkan was put to rest and never to be mentioned or referred to again. With time, Maritza would rationalize the encounter with the pointy eared man from the sea with wings on his ankles as not real. Just the exaggerative imagination of an only child which Maritza was.

The encounter became forgotten, anyways.

A few months after the summer spent in her mother’s native country, her mother died. An unexpected, tragic death that sent the small Stark family reeling and left Maritza without a mother. The time spent in Mexico became only a highlight for the summer spent as a family having fun before everything went to shit and the Starks’ entire world was turned upside down.

The necklace and cleansing had been intended to put K’uk’ulkan to rest. Yesenia’s death buried the matter entirely. Yet some things had a way of coming back to the surface.

Even if they were seemingly forgotten.

Translations:

Diablo(Devil)

Aléjate de ella! No la toques!(Get away from her! Don’t touch her!)

Tu maldad no puede tocar a alguien con un alma pura, Namor. No puedes quitarle su alma. Aléjate, Namor. (Your wickedness cannot touch someone with a pure soul, Namor. You can’t take away her soul. Get away, Namor.)

#namor x latina!oc #namor x oc #tenoch huerta namor #namor x reader #namor #namor fanfiction #stark oc #latina oc #SoundCloud

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secretsfromthegirlnextdoor · 1 year

Text

The Dragon & the White Wolf

Pairing | Aemond Targaryen x Stark!OC

Description | Ellyana Stark witnesses a horrific attack and is sent to recover in King’s Landing, only to meet her match in a sullen, one-eyed prince. Takes place during the years between episodes 7 & 8. Aegon is 16 and Aemond is 13.

When Ellyana Stark was but ten years of age, just days ahead of her eleventh nameday, she went for a late afternoon ride in the Wolfswood with her father. their favorite way to pass the time together. But what she didn’t know when they trotted through the hunters gate that day was that it would be the last time the two would ever ride through the gates of Winterfell together.

It took nearly four days for the Stark bannermen to find the little lady after her horse returned to the castle without her or her father. They found Lord Rickon’s horse a week later, almost to The Wall, but they never found her Lord Father. Days later Ellyana would recount that an enormous bear, the largest she’d ever seen, had attacked them on their ride. The bear was white as fresh snow, she’d said, with eyes as blue as the sky on a clear day.

Her father had brandished his sword, he’d even gotten a few good jabs at the monster, but the bear swiped at Lord Stark with its enormous clawed paw and took him down in an instant. The horses were quite clearly spooked, after her father had been stuck down his steed took off in the opposite direction and Ellyana’s reared on its hind legs after the bear roared, sending the young girl tumbling to the ground.

In his final moments before the terrible bear dragged his body away, Lord Stark pleaded with his daughter in forced breaths, “Ellya! Run! Hide my love!” He gasped. Her last memory of her father was his hand reaching for her as the beast latched onto his leg and dragged him off into the dark woods.

Ellyana tried her best to heed her fathers last words, she truly did, but her body had gone cold. All she could muster was to crawl a few yards and pull herself to hide under the brush that grew there. She’d done such a remarkable job hiding, in fact, that the only way the bannermen found her days later was the blood in the snow nearby and the sight of her blue riding boots under the brush.

The mental toll the ordeal had on Ellyana was painfully clear, she’d seen her father brutally attacked; and when the little lady returned to find her brother the new Lord of Winterfell, she was unable to fit back into her previous life. Not a single soul believed what had happened that day in the woods, Maesters and High Lords alike were quick to dismiss her claims of a white haired, blue eyed bear roaming the woods so close to Winterfell. White walkers such as she described had been gone for thousands of years, and never seen south of the wall, it was impossible, they decreed. Ellyana’s claims made her a pariah, whispers and snickers followed her all over the castle, so she simply stopped talking. Stopped leaving her chambers. Stopped living.

Even more dramatic and gossip inducing than the mental effects were the physical ones. When Ellyana and her father rode out of Winterfell that fateful afternoon, she had flowing brown hair that ended bluntly at the middle of her back. It was the same shade as every Stark in every maester’s records for as far back as they went. No one knew what had happened to Ellyana during those days in the woods, but when she returned, her hair was no longer Stark brown, but pure white. Her gray, Stark eyes remained unchanged, but her skin had become perpetually cold to the touch such that no fires or cloaks or baths could warm her.

The silence and her icy touch deeply worried her lady mother and older brother, so much so that nearly a year after the incident, with no improvement in sight, the maesters suggested that Lady Ellyana be sent away from the north to be warmed by the gentle southern winds. Her uncle suggested Dorne, he traveled there once and spoke of its warmth and beauty, but Lady Gilliane would hear nothing of the sort, Dorne was simply too far, too foreign. The absolute farthest she would allow her daughter to travel was to King’s Landing, so a raven was sent.

A fortnight later it had all been arranged. Ellyana would travel south the next day, accompanied by her Uncle Bennard, and would remain in King’s Landing for the foreseeable future as a ward of King Viserys and Queen Alicent. Raised as a proper lady and then someday wed off to some other high lord for alliances sake.

Ellyana had never considered leaving Winterfell, but the prospect of going so far away didn’t frighten her the way it seemed to frighten her mother. It had been explained to her since childhood that she would grow up to be a high Lord’s wife someday, possibly in another castle far away from the North. Even now with the plans all arranged and the horses readied, she didn’t feel sad about leaving her home, in truth, since that day in the woods she hadn’t felt anything, no anger, sadness or joy had stirred in her chest. The next morning her family said their goodbyes and loaded her into a small carriage and off she went.

It was yet another perfect, warm afternoon in King's Landing on the day the Stark convoy arrived. The courtyard was full of bustling servants and attendants while the young lords and princes practiced their swordsmanship and sparred with one another and the various gold cloaks and knights that had offered their tutelage to the royals.

The two young princes, Aegon and Aemond stood opposite the entry gates when they began to creak open, revealing a small host of horses and the most pitiful carriage they’d ever seen. The banners they carried displayed a faded direwolf, “that’ll be the Stark girl” Aegon grunted, nudging his brother in the direction of the carriage. The younger prince merely nodded, focusing more on the match nearby than the new arrivals.

That is, until a flash of white hair caught his eye as the door to the carriage tentatively swung open and a small girl climbed out slowly.

“That’s her,” Aegon murmured, “I’ve heard whispers, in the north they’ve taken to calling her the white wolf. Cursed by some northern witch, they say”

Aemond hummed, shifting his weight and looking back at his brother before setting his good eye on the little Lady Stark. Their mother had mentioned her arrival at their evening meal just a few nights ago, but he’d been too preoccupied to listen to the tale and he silently cursed himself for not paying just an ounce more attention.

“I’d wed and bed her before the fortnight was up,” Aegon sneered, grabbing the hilt of his sword suggestively, “have the whole lot of those northern savages bowing to the realm on their hands and knees”

Aemond sniffed, turning away from the girl and back to his brother, “a shame you won’t have the chance” he replied sarcastically, “that you have already been wed to your sweet lady wife.”

The older scoffed and waved his hand, “I shall have free reign to whomever-” but was stopped before Aemond laid a hand to his chest. Once the young brother was small in stature compared to his elder, but in the last year he had begun to spring up, growing hand over fist as each new moon rose. Now he was tall enough to look upon his brother's face, see the dread present in his eyes.

It was then that the doors to the hall produced Queen Alicent, surrounded by an envoy of servants that approached the Starks in a whirlwind.

“Lady Stark!” The Queen called, sweeping down the steps to greet the young Lady, “what a pleasure to have you joining us here in King’s Landing!” She sang. Bennard Stark stepped forward, providing a deep bow and looking to Ellyana, who curtsied as well. “Your Highness, you are too kind, Lady Ellyana does not speak, but I shall give you her thanks myself”

The Queen looked bewildered, but only for half a second, regaining her composure and stepping towards the girl, “Ellyana, the tales of your beauty do not do justice to the young Lady before me,” she cooed, reaching a hand out to stroke the girl’s hair, “and my my, you shall find no trouble fitting in among our Targaryen brood with this hair, my dear” as soon as her hand swept down to brush the girl’s cheek, the queen jerked away. Another moment of weakness. A break in her perfect facade.

The woman reclaimed her hand, clasping it with the other under the sleeves of her gown. The whole exchange lasted no longer than a few moments, but the entire courtyard had taken notice. “A Stark, through and through, your Grace” Bennard spoke up, clear for all to hear.

“Yes, yes of course” Queen Alicent replied with a nod, momentarily looking out into the courtyard to find her sons, shooting them a look before returning her gaze to their visitors, “well let’s get you inside and settled. you’ll be exhausted from your journey, no doubt.” She ushered the girl towards the royal apartments, “you will dine with our family this evening. We shall spare you the formal introductions until then.”

“She is cold as a corpse”, Aegon relayed excitedly, sipping wine from his cup as he threw himself down at the table in the small hall. “It’s true, her maids confirmed it” he announced to no one in particular. “Aegon, hush, you fool” Alicent demanded, “the young Lady Stark is a guest in our home, you and all others will treat her with respect” the Queen said pointedly to her eldest. “A little lamb in a wolf’s cloak” Helaena muttered to herself, “a meal fit for a dragon” she murmured again. “Hush, hush my dear” the Queen tutted as heads turned at the steps coming down the corridor towards them.

Bennard and Ellyana Stark rounded the corner and approached the table as the King huffed and shifted in his seat, gesturing for Alicent to help him up. Now standing, the King nodded his head, and a squire raised his voice, “Lady Ellyana Stark, and her uncle, Ser Bennard Stark of Winterfell, Your Grace.”

Both the lady and her escort dropped into deep shows of respect for the old man, before he tisked and commanded, “rise, come and dine with us, you are most welcome here”

“Thank you, your Grace” Bennard replied and guided Ellyana by the small of her back to the feast. The King slumped back in his chair, but the Queen remained, “I present to you our children, Princess Helaena and the Princes Aegon and Aemond.” She motioned for them all to sit, “There is a place for you besides the latter, Ellyana” The Queen gestured, “and one for you besides the King, Ser Bennard.”

While the group turned their attention to the food, Aemond noticed an exchange between Bennard and his niece, a questioning glance, and an affirming nod from the girl, before he himself rose to his feet and drew back a seat for the Lady. The young woman gave him a curt nod, face void of emotion as she gently took her seat and turned to the feast as Aemond continued to study her features, leaning in to whisper in her ear, “welcome to the fray, little wolf”

His smooth voice caused goose flesh to break out on her arms, not unnoticed by the Prince, and a flutter in her chest, known only to herself, which caused her eyes to widen as she turned her sights back to him. The slightest of smiles splayed across her lips, until the king cleared his throat, drawing them all back to the present.

The next afternoon Aemond was summoned to Grand Maester Mellos’ infirmary, a regular occurrence since the loss of his eye. It had been three years since the incident, and the wound had been healed for quite some time now, but still he was plagued with pains and wore a mask covering the gaping hole to spare others from having to witness the ghastly lesion. The Maester had been working tirelessly on a false eye to fill the void, and Aemond hoped privately that it would be ready soon, so that he could move forward with his life.

He was mere steps from the chambers when a sharp cry rang out into the corridor, followed quickly by another gasp, and then chiding in the maester’s hushed voice. Aemond had halted his steps at the first shout, unsure of what laid ahead of him, just out of sight. He could hear the tinkling of glasses and vials, the shuffling of papers. In the absence of half of his vision he’d worked to train his other senses, strengthening them more than any other in king’s landing.

Yet another whimper wafted out to the corridor and launched Aemond forward, ready to draw blood. “Grand Maester!” He shouted, announcing his presence and jarring the old man in his seat. In front of the Maester on a stool sat the Lady Ellyana, looking even smaller than he had recalled from the evening before, and considerably more timid.

The Lady’s sleeve had been cut and pushed all the way up past her elbow, as her forearm laid bare acrost a table littered with various bottles and tinctures. Aemond could see red angry marks up and down her arm, and he had to breathe deeply to restrain himself from flying into a fit of rage. “My prince!” The maester exclaimed, rousing himself and hobbling over to the young man, “I had nearly forgotten our regular meetings, the Lady and I were simply conducting some tests to better understand her affliction.”

The prince nodded, eye flicking back to Ellyana, who was now replacing her gown’s sleeve over the marks on her body, “apologies for my intrusion” Aemond offered, sight returning to the maester. “No intrusion at all my boy, come come, I will ready my instruments at once to inspect that eye.” Maester Mellos smiled heartily, turning back to Ellyana, “Lady Stark I propose we stall our tests for the moment while I tend to Prince Aemond, it won’t be long at all and then we will resume, yes?”

The man had hardly finished speaking when he turned back to the Prince and shuffled away towards his stores of tools and trinkets, bustling about while the young man took his usual seat near the window, not far from where the maester’s female patient remained. They sat in continued silence while the old man collected his items and made his way in and out of the room.

In this dim light Aemond practically had to squint to get a good look at the Stark girl, there was a thin layer of smoke in the air, for what reason, the prince didn’t want to know. In this setting his mother was right, she really did look Targaryen. The Maester returned in a flurry and marched towards the boy, a large book and various tools in his feeble old hands. He reached past Aemond and opened the nearby windows, allowing the smoke to waft out of doors.

All of a sudden as the smoke retreated and the Maester standing before him, Aemond felt terribly exposed. Mellos leaned forward and peeled back the piece of cloth that covered his empty eye socket. His heart thrummed in his chest as his gaze flickered over to land on Ellyana, now that the smoke had cleared and the light streamed in he could see her face clearly. Even despite the gruesome sight she didn’t flinch or look away horrified as most women would, but kept her face steady, studying him just as much as he had been studying her.

“Healing nicely your highness,” the Maester observed, making Aemond’s face feel aflame with shame. No woman in this city would be interested in a one-eyed second son, even one with the Targaryen name. Mellos set aside his tools, replacing the eye patch and stepping back from the young prince. “The false eye should be ready soon, it is seeming that sapphire will prove to be the best material,” he smiled and started making his way back over the the small fire, wiping his clammy hands on a rag before turning back over his shoulder, “I will send for you when it is ready your highness, now, I must return to Lady Stark”

The prince now stood from his place by the window, adjusting his belt and trying to look busy, buying time. The old man had now knelt down by the fire, turning a small iron back and forth under the coals before bringing it out from the hearth and standing to examine the glowing tip. Aemond couldn’t possibly allow the Maester to take a single step towards the girl with that thing in his hand, so he spoke up quickly.

“ArchMaester!” He blurted before the old man could advance, “My apologies, I’ve just recalled that my dear Lady Mother has requested the Lady Stark’s presence this afternoon for tea, I was to escort the young lady if I came across her before Helaena.”

Mellos raised his eyebrows as he sucked in a breath, then shrugged and let out a sigh, “ah, well we mustn't defy the Queen!” He replied jovially, stooping to replace the hot iron under the coals as Aemond and Ellyana simultaneously released a breath. “Lady Stark, shall we?” The Prince asked, extending his arm towards the young lady, who rose and strode in front of him as Aemond’s hand hovered over her back, guiding her towards the door.

“erm, Lady Stark?” The Maester queried, causing the teens to pause briefly to address him, “I’ll call for you on the morrow so that we might resume” he stated, without an ounce of space for argument. Aemond could feel Ellyana shrink back towards him, her eyes brushing the floor before she lifted her head in a quick nod. She turned to go, but he caught her arm, holding her in place before facing the Maester, “perhaps you ought to let the tests from today heal before subjecting Lady Stark to more?”

This flustered the Maester beyond speaking, turning him into a jumbled muttering mess, he barely uttered “yes, of course” before the two had fled the room, allowing the doors to fall shut behind them.

The heavy doors banged to a close loudly in the empty corridor, and the only sounds were of their steps heading away from the infirmary. It took two flights of stairs before the pair slowed to a stop to catch their breath.

“Thank you” a sweet, clear voice emerged as Aemond grasped her wrist unflinchingly and pushed her sleeve up, examining the multi-colored welts that littered her arm, “how long did he keep you there? Are you alright? What caused this raised green mark?” He held her arm for another few moments before his head picked up to look at her face, “you spoke!” He exclaimed.

Ellyana pursed her lips to hold back a laugh, “I do know how to speak, your highness” she replied, sliding her sleeve back down as Aemond released her hand and stood back to his full height. “But you’re alright? I heard you cry out before I entered”. The lady gave another nod and a smile “I am now, thanks to you, I feared what might happen once he retrieved that iron”

The prince scoffed, rubbing his temple, “and you had intended to remain there, allowing him to do his purposeless experiments without complaint until I entered?”

Lady Stark’s smile faded, “I’ve been dismissed and quieted by enough Maesters in my life, my complaints would have had no effect on him, trust me your highness.” Aemond simply shook his head, “He’s a dolt, should he call for you again, send for me first and I’ll accompany you” he paused, “if it pleases you”, he added frantically. She let out a soft laugh, “Thank you, Your Highness”.

“A-Aemond” he corrected, “please, call me Aemond”

“Alright… Aemond” Ellyana replied tentatively, “I suppose I must be on my way to take tea with the Queen,” she said as she stepped back, accidentally colliding with the stone corridor wall.

“Oh no, Lady Stark” Aemond pursed his lips to fight a smile, “ that was the first lie I could conjure in the moment”

“Thank the Gods” Ellyana breathed, letting her head fall back against the wall as well, then straightening, “And if you wish me to call you by your given name, you must call me by mine as well”

This time, Aemond didn’t fight the grin that spread across his face, “It would be my honor” he said with a curt bow. Ellyana returned the smile and pushed away from the wall, “I believe I'll retire to my chamber for the evening.” She swallowed, clasping her hands together in a wringing motion as her eyes focused on the movement.

Aemond cleared his throat, “Of course my lady.” Her eyes flicked to his instantly, “Ellyana” he corrected. The lady gave him a polite nod and a small curtsy then stepped away from the wall, heading for the stairs, stopping short of the first step and turning back, “Aemond? thank you for not pulling away”

“Pulling away?” He asked. “From me, when you touched my arm, most people pull back, they’re frightened by the cold” she clarified, once again focusing on the wringing motion of her fingers. “Well then I should give you the same thanks,” the prince replied.

Ellyana cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed as she gazed once more upon him. “You didn’t look away, when the maester uncovered my eye” he replied softly.

“I’ve seen worse, Prince Aemond.”

“As have I, Lady Stark.”

A/N | Thanks for reading! Let me know if I should do a part two!

#aemond targaryen #aemond one eye #aemond x oc #aemond #fanfic #original character #GOT #hotd #hotd season 1 #house of the dragon #stark oc

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