Happy Holidays, jessiegower!
Title: The Codex
Recipient: jessiegower
Rating: PG (SFW)
Notes: Hello, Jessiegower, I write this to you from the bottom of my heart. I hope it helps you find out more about other parts of the world and that you find this particular story (inspired by real-life events) fun. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! MAY THE NEXT YEAR BE SO GOOD AND ALL YOUR GOALS BE ACHIEVED.
Summary: An adventure in 18th-century Mexico yields up an unexpected treasure.
Stolen Codex
December 1762 - Mexico City - New Spain
Aziraphale was reordering his new recovery, the kalendario ydolatrico codex, it was a fascinating divination codex with all the definitions and omens for the date of birth of every people, in this calendar of 260 days. It was painted on one side with a symbol for each day. He only had 5 pages and he understood that the full text was around 20 pages, not knowing where the others where, he took the amate “book” and guarded it in his library.
Crowley, as usual was sleep, the hot of the summer always dumming him, he prefered going out in the night to walk to the less crowded city and to make a fair prank here and there taking some inspiration on the local legends, such as The Black Rider, (El charro negro) This one was of particularly fun for him, knowing people that wanted off of their homes, rather because they choose acquaintances that did not go to their social class or to their parents tastes, or because it would make a mess of the family or some other reasons, maybe just some fool that have annoy Crowley early. He took the Charro Negro presence, black suit, tall, handsome with a big hat and this is where he would make the difference: NO HORSE, he still burst in flames to make pry eyes think he was the Charro Negro when the human accepted his “guidance”, sending them away from that place to their new luck 1
It had been a long time since both of them where here and that was before the arrangement, when the great Aztec, Maya and Inca empires were just about to begin. When they both heard about the wonders of what this New World could bring, how all the continents were finally together they took a long trip to stay there for a while, it took little time for them both to understand it wasn’t the multicultural peace world they thought but a multicultural world of the same: “I am purest that you and my divinity says so” so they both had work to do.
“I think it will be time for me to go soon” Crowley said in a resign quiet way.
“Are you tired of receiving your pay for the Inquisition?” Aziraphale asked.
“Is long over due here, in most places in the old world is no more”.
“Well they made it awfully easy to stay here with all the misinformation and long distance you know”
Crowley gave him a side glance
“Yeah, I know but this is enough. Have you seen the recent paintings? The casta ones? The names!! Have you seen them!! Not even I could came with that ridiculous names”
Aziraphale left the other books in his table and walked towards the sofa that Crowley was occupying, shooting his legs he sat by his side and say “Well salta pa tras does sound like something you would think off dear”
Crowley glared at him “Bah, you just wanna stay here you can collect new books.”
“Well otherwise they would be burned, destroyed or not be well guarded as I have them. And they are not new, that one has a fairy amount of time between the people” Aziraphale gesture to the book on the table.
“Exssscusess and you know it, you are craving to find the rest of the pages for that one.”
“Well yes, I would like to have the Codex complete, it could help me understand more, you know we weren’t here when that happened and it all happened so fast.”
Crowley stretch out moving Aziraphale aside and got on his feet, “Well” he said “If you need me, Señor Céspedes2 is going to be commissioning some satiric thing to that Miguel.”
“You are going to the Cathedral right? There is this girl that still prays to Tlaloc and I need to check that the priest does not find out and throws her away”
Aziraphale reached for his hat and passed his to Crowley who answered
“Where else would you find him, he is the archbishop’s favourite painter. I think I know the girl who you are talking about, tell you what make a little mischief with the dude, make him a little more to my side and I ll help you find those 1st and 2st pages how about that?”
Aziraphale showed a big smile “Ah! I knew you know more of that book that you made me know, indeed I need those first pages, I will be a great improvement for the reading, thank you!”
He approached Crowley almost to an embrace but stopped himself, even though they have been friends for a while now the affectional showings where a little off for their behaviour and Aziraphale stopped to shake his hand, Crowley nodded and turn to the door.
“Yeah yeah, whatever just, come along Don Azra de la Fé let's make this quick I don't like to be in the plaza at this time of the year” he said while walking in through the middle of the internal patio.
“Why not?” Aziraphale asked, sounding really confused.
Crowley stopped before reaching the main door.
“Honestly. Where are you?! The piñatas? They punch deadly sins here and there and well it hurts my pride?
Aziraphale looked at him with blank eyes, clearly not knowing what he was talking about.
“For an intelligent angel you are very dumm, the piñatas, they reinvented them as a way to vanquish evil” Crowley gesture his hand all over him “They have 7 points and they represent all the Deadly Sins when people hit them they are destroying it with vi… virtues and blind fai… faith”
Aziraphale catched on with him and opened
the door.
“Ah! I am sorry I didn’t knew about that I thought it was another way to continue the traditions, to Huitsilopotzli the Sun god”
Crowley raised an eyebrow, sometimes the way the angel shrugged the “ineffable” ideas was astounding
“Are you allowed to do that? Are they?”
“Well” Aziraphale looked up, then sideways and finally very fast, down. “They haven’t said a thing so I think is ok, as long as the humans do good deeds, I don’t see why it NEEDS to be a specific name they follow”
They walked toward the center of the city, their quarters were not far but they still needed to walk through the city to arrived and they were indeed a lot of Piñatas hanging and some of the kids were already smashing them. Crowley winced every time.
They arrived at the Cathedral and got to work, while Aziraphale did pray and watch over the woman, Crowley went straight up to find Miguel painting yet another portrait of the archbishop.
Aziraphale didn’t really knew what to do with the priest, because once he saw him he knew exactly what Crowley had ment with a little “more” to my side. The priest was already so corrupt, coming from a rich family, entering the high ranks of the organization, and still stealing on the poor and origin people.
The only thing the angel could do to damn the old man was to make him actually rejected an apparition of an angel, so he only walked pass by and ask him if he would be kind enough to spare some food or money, the priest of course rejected him, telling him that he had no right to ask for that to him.
“If you need money dear sir, I suggest you find a job or ask the Charity Sisters, now go away if you are not praying”
As always Aziraphale felt guilty of doing that, but he also knew that Crowley would deliver with his promise of giving him pages 1 and 2 of the kalendario and that was something really he wanted.
Crowley delivered, he arrived with the 1ª and 2ª pages, a wonderful set of drawings that encoded the rest of the book, he knew he had to arrive soon to his rooms to check exactly what was that they revealed.
Placing together with the rest of the pages he had some wonderful histories came through but Aziraphale knew he would have to eventually give back the codex, especially after all the damages the spaniels were doing to this nation.
He arranged to give back pages 3 through 8, the first two would be for him, after all because it had the divination process, which from a certain point of view were extremely correct, he thought it wise to better save them in his collection.
They stayed in Mexico for a few years and then they went back to Europe, this time to France.
-------
Tonalámatl-Aubin
July 1982 - Cancún, Yucatan - Mexico
They were on a trip with the family, summer vacations and all, Warlock was 3 years old, and they had to supervise it still, never in direct contact but always, as Crowley liked to say it, lurking.
They were sitting under a Palapa, Crowley having no problem with the sun or the heat while Aziraphale was mindful enough to pretended it bother him. Their palapa neighbour was a mexican lawyer that had shared their trip from France, for both demon and angel it fell as if the lawyer, whose name they would later found out was José Luis Castañeda del Valle, was in the middle of a moral struggle and suffering. 3
Now safely back at his country he relaxed and was drinking some margaritas. He was getting drunk and he took his drink over Aziraphale who looked so english he started babbling to him in spanish.
“You look like a scholar dude, did you know I am a rescuer, I saved back my country patrimony and I took it back to Mexico, those French people stealing our codex they have no idea I am the first of many….” after saying this he turned back to talk to a waiter.
“Bring more drinks for this good people today we celebrate.” He said not as drunk as he looked.
“What is exactly that you retrieve from the french?” said Crowley in a very spanish accent.
The lawyer opened wide his eyes at the realization that he understood and Aziraphale intervene before Crowley could scare more the poor guy.
“We are scholars and as you can recall no friends from the French, in fact we lived in Mexico City a long time ago”
The lawyer look from one to the other4 and took a deep breath sobering himself.
“I just “turn myself” to the museum” he said in a whisper making the quotes sign with his hands “I retrieve the Tonalámatl-Aubin codex”
Now it was Aziraphale eyes that opened wide as the realization sunk in.
He had given the rest of the pages and they had end up in the hands of a french family, and then this person had steal it back.
Mr. Castañeda had took it on his hands to retrieve the document, what would he do if he knew he still had page 1 and 2 in his library, they were well conserved but it was true it belonged to this people.
Crowley closed Aziraphale mouth with his hand and started laughing. This was the perfect scenario for him, though he didn't understand or even new the answer, this moral dilemmas were so cool to sabour: they got under the angel's nails 5 and it helped his work in an exponential way, specially if it got international, which of course it would. There will be outrage in both sides of the Atlantic.
Saying what he had to say and almost completely sober the lawyer stood up, Aziraphale help him up and thank him for the drink. Felling a little odd of what would happen to him: after all he had steal from a library, something Aziraphale was really not into and sometimes even was inclined to act upon it, but then again, the codex was this nation’s first and so maybe the man was actually doing a good deed. His head was beginning to ache and that was something he really wasn’t supposed to have.
“Hey angel, lets this one go over our heads yeah, we really don’t need this kind of situation while we have That situation” Crowley said patting one hand in Aziraphale back and pointing with the other towards the 3 year old “antichrist”
“Yes, I suppose you are right, after all what we need now is a middle ground, no Good no Evil”
“Eshk but at least enjoy the weather dear” Crowley said again teasing Aziraphale.
Aziraphale smiled, really, he was trying to raise this kid with his enemy and all in order to live more of this, more of the humans more of this earth, more of this.
Crowley smiled back and nod, agreeing with what the angel was thinking.
____________
Footnotes.
Which Crowley had no idea where that would be.
A/N: Translated to Mister Grass.
Aziraphale had perceived it and had alert Crowley, Crowley as usual just hummed and went to sleep for the rest of the trip, the plane was not necessary but resting their wings and having a moment to stoped helped a lot. Crowley was always angst about leaving the Bentley alone, but Aziraphale new that nothing would happened so nothing happened to the beloved car.
If you would be seeing the scene from outside you would see Crowley standing by his right while Aziraphale was at his left.- And we all know the care he took there.