Miguel rolled over onto Tulio, still snoring. Tulio angrily shoved Miguel off and tried to resume sleeping. However Miguel insisted and grabbed Tulio like a teddy bear, holding him close.

"Ugh, Miguel! Get off!" Tulio finally shouted and pushed Miguel off once again. Presumably still asleep, Miguel rolled in the other direction, leaving Tulio alone. Regrettably, Tulio was fully awake now. He sat up and yawned. He turned to his side and spotted Chel, still fast asleep. He grinned and kissed her cheek. She brushed it away unconsciously.

"Well good morning to you too." He said smugly as he stood up and stretched. He was surprised he could tell it was morning, the deep jungle brush virtually blocked out all light. He shrugged his way through a bit of it to see if he could tell where they might be. He pushed back the brush and suddenly a huge grin spread over his face. "Miguel! Chel! Wake up!" he yelled excitedly. He turned toward his best friend and girlfriend. Still asleep. He didn't want to let go of the plant he was holding back, afraid what he was seeing might disappear if he did. Growling he finally let go off the brush and shook the two awake.

"Ahh! What is it?!" Miguel yelled half awake.

"Tulio? What-" Chel began to say. Suddenly both Miguel and Chel's eyes opened wide.

"It's the beach!!!!" they yelled happily, pushing past Tulio to make sure the vision in front of them was real. Miguel fell to his knees and was about to kiss the sand, when he suddenly stopped.

"Ah nope, I've learned my lesson." He said getting back up. Chel grabbed Tulio and started to jump up and down.

"We found it! Tulio I can't believe it!" she smiled happily at him. He stood still however looking at something on the horizon.

"Look." He said pointing toward the ocean. Miguel and Chel turned and saw a fleet of ships a good 200 yards away from land. Tulio squinted at them, they didn't seem to be moving. He figured they were anchored.

"It must be Cortés's ships…" Miguel breathed, "They must still be searching for it…"

"Well don't worry, they'll never find it." Tulio said to Miguel reassuringly. He walked toward the shore with Miguel close behind. Chel followed slowly, biting her nail. She wasn't so sure about what Tulio just said. Tulio stood quietly looking at the ships. Miguel looked at the ships and then at Tulio, he knew Tulio was thinking up a plan.

"So what's your plan?" he asked excitedly. Tulio rubbed his chin with his index finger.

"Obvious isn't it? We shanghai one of the ships! They got food and supplies; we'll be back in Spain in no time!" he said smugly, proud of his brilliant plan.

"Then let's do it!" Miguel shouted happily. He and Tulio ran for the long boat breached on the shore. Chel shook her head admirably at the two men and followed behind them. Suddenly she stopped and whistled to Altivo. The horse emerged groggily from the green shrubbery. She grabbed his reins and headed for the boat with the guys.

***

Tulio grabbed Miguel and helped him onto the ship. He then reached for Chel and helped her aboard. He leaned over the side of the ship and looked doubtfully at Altivo.

"Uh, you just wait there while we scope out the ship." He told the horse, who snorted. Chel was investigating the ship. She had never seen one quite like it. Tulio saw the opportunity to impress her by showing off his little knowledge of ships. The offered her his arm and gave her a tour. Miguel looked at them admirably and at that moment he felt a bit jealous, but he quickly shook it off. He smirked at Tulio's attempt at being suave and decided to do a little looking around himself. He headed below deck to check on what provisions might be there. He walked around trying to find where the drinking water was kept. He strolled past the brig, not noticing that all but one of the iron doors was open. He ducked under barrels and boxes to see if he could make out the writing on them. He lifted them and finally found the provisions he had been looking for.

"Ah excellent, more than enough!" he exclaimed happily. Suddenly he heard a whimper from one of the metal cells. He turned suddenly to see what it was. He walked over curiously, to a heap on the floor of one of the cells. He knelt down and studied it. With out warning, the bundle moved. Miguel nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly got up and ran for the keys hanging on a hook in the wall. He stuck the key in the door swiftly and opened it. He approached the heap slowly and placed a hand on it. He waited and after a moment it seemed to him that the heap was breathing! He removed the tattered cloth from the figure and fell back in shock. It was a girl! She looked to be about 19. She had reddish raven hair that flowed to her chest, she was a tan color, skinny, but had a pretty face. He figured she must be from Spain, a prisoner of Cortés's. She breathed slowly and weakly. Miguel lifted her up into his arms and shook her awake. She began to shiver, but slowly opened her eyes. They were a deep dark brown color. Miguel smiled at the girl. She blinked a few times and her eyes scanned his face. She gasped suddenly.

"Wh-who are you?" she asked weakly.

"My name is Miguel…are-are you alright miss?" he asked genuinely concerned. She shifted in his arms and tried to sit up. Miguel placed his hand on her back to help her along.

"I'm just hungry and tired and a little weak…are you part of the crew? I haven't seen you."

"No, no, I'm an adventurer of different sorts. Um how long have you been down here? Are you a prisoner? Stowaway?"

"Something like that…" she said staring at the barrels of food. Miguel turned in the same direction and quickly caught on.

"Oh, wait there! I'll get you something to eat." He said kindly and ran to get her food.

"Thank you." She said back to him just a kindly. He nodded and smiled. He quickly returned to her with a platter of food. She wasted no time in eating it. Miguel simply watched her.

"So what's your name?" he asked softly. She swallowed what was in her mouth and smiled weakly.

"My name is Emelita."