Mariano couldn't help being a romantic. It was in his bones, something that was a part of who he is. So when he saw his darling Dolores walking alone on the outskirts of town one day, of course he had to run to her and pull her as close to him as possible.

"Lola, mi amor," he cooed softly into her ear. She always said she loved the smooth sound of his voice. "I'm so glad I found you. It felt like the whole world lit up as soon as I saw you, mi sol." He wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to bring her hand up to his lips. Dolores didn't move.

"Hmm, what's wrong, amor?" Mariano asked. "You seem so tense today. Here…" he leaned closer to her face with a cheeky grin. "Let me kiss it all better for you—"

"Nope!" Dolores shouted with a voice that definitely not hers. She pushed Mariano away and wriggled out of his arms and—turned into Camilo.

"Aah!" Mariano let loose a rather unmanly scream and jumped back several feet. "Oh my—uh—Camilo! This is—awkward."

"You're telling me!" Camilo started wiping his cheek in disgust, then wiping his hands on his ruana.

Mariano managed to compose himself. Hopefully no one else had seen that. "Listen, uh…I'm so sorry. I really did think you were Dolores. Why were you pretending to be her?"

"None of your business," Camilo blew a raspberry at him, but then crossed his arms and looked him up and down. "What about you? You usually that cuddly with my sister?"

Mariano coughed, and tried to grin. "Oh, well…only when she asks, haha."

Camilo squinted. "…I didn't ask."

Mariano clamped his mouth shut. What a fantastic mess he was making right now. He and Dolores had been dating for almost a year now, but Camilo had never really paid attention to him.

Until now.

Mariano cleared his throat. "Listen, uh…I'm really sorry. Can we just forget this happened?"

Camilo watched him for a moment longer…and then just shrugged it off. "Yeah, okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you know, I'll just stop going around as Dolores and start sneaking around as someone else. Like…Abuela. No one wants to kiss Abuela."

Mariano stifled a laugh. "That works for me. See you around, amigo."

Camilo waved at him lazily as Mariano quickly turned to leave. Yeesh. Talk about embarrassing. If Dolores hadn't been in her soundproofed room for that, she would definitely laugh at both of them for it later. Oh well. At least Camilo wasn't angry.

The next day started off normal for Mariano, nothing out of place…until he was just about to leave his house, and he spotted a folded piece of paper just in front of the door. It looked like someone had slipped it under the door from outside. Strange. Curiously, Mariano picked up the note and opened it.

Mariano Guzman-

Since your relationship with Dolores has progressed to a more serious degree, it's time for you to engage in one of the most important of our family traditions: the Madrigal Family Trials.

Unfortunately, the family has had too many suitors in the past who were only in it to marry into status, or get unlimited access to our magic. So in order to test their true dedication, anyone who wishes to join our family must first pass a series of trials.

Félix did it before marrying Pepa.

Agustín did it before marrying Julieta.

Now, it's your turn. Your tests begin immediately.

Do not discuss this with Dolores. She's not allowed to help you.

Good luck. You'll need it.

Mariano re-read the note, trying to make sense of it. Trials? He'd never heard of this before. Heck, not too long go he'd almost gotten engaged to Isabela, and no one had mentioned anything about testing his worthiness. Was it because that engagement had been arranged? Or was this some sort of prank?

He'd have to ask. If not Dolores, then perhaps her parents or someone else from the family. Mind made up, Mariano put the note in his pocket and stepped out the door…and into a puddle of glue.

His shoes were now covered in glue and stuck to the ground.

This must be one of the trials.

"I-I don't know about this, Camilo…" Antonio wrung his little hands together, worry lacing his features. "This seems like a mean trick."

The two brothers were standing on the second story overlooking the courtyard, where Antonio's jaguar, Parce, was lying around patiently. Most of the family had already left for the day, so it was the perfect time to put their plan into action.

Camilo was keeping his eye on the front door. "It's not a trick, Antonio, it's a test, remember?" he insisted. "You said your jaguar won't hurt anyone if you tell him not to, right?"

"Yeah, he knows…" Antonio said quietly. "I told him to scare Mariano but not hurt him…and in return he'll get some steak from the kitchen."

"Very good, see? Nothing to worry about."

"But it still seems—"

"Shh, shh. Here he comes!" Camilo ducked behind a potted plant to watch, grinning gleefully. Antonio hesitated a moment before joining him.

The front door opened below them, and in walked a very confused Mariano (who, hilariously, was wearing flip-flops). Parce perked up when he saw him, already knowing what to do. The door closed behind Mariano and Parce was sneaking around behind him.

"Buenos días," Mariano called into the house. "Anybody home…?" He stopped at a low growling sound coming from his left, and turned around to see Parce emerging toward him from the shadows. His eyes widened and he started backing away slowly. "Uh…hey, kitty. Nice kitty…"

Camilo stifled a laugh. Parce seemed to be enjoying this just as much, circling Mariano as if he was actual prey, almost appearing to smile. Mariano, for his part, looked like he was about to pass out but kept his cool as best as he could.

"Y-you…you are one of Antonio's, right, amigo?" Mariano stammered. "So you remember me, right? I'm family! I-I'm your friend! Not food!" He kept backing up, almost to the wall. "I'm sure Antonio feeds you well, and I don't think he'd want you eating me, so—!" He stumbled on something, nearly falling.

Parce let out a roar and jumped forward ever so slightly, which caused Mariano to fully lose his balance and fall back onto his rear end. The poor man screamed like a little girl and desperately crawled away until he was cowering in the corner of the room.

Camilo couldn't contain himself anymore and burst out laughing. His sister's oh-so-dreamy boyfriend didn't look nearly so suave and manly now, did he? Antonio, however, did not appear to agree with this sentiment.

"Camilo, I don't like this," the boy whimpered. "He looks really scared!"

"I know," Camilo cackled, watching as Mariano shakily tried to stand back up. "He looks like he's gonna start crying." He wiped a few tears of laughter from his eyes and patted Antonio's shoulder. "Don't worry, man, he'll be fine. We'll look back on this one day and laugh."

Antonio pressed his lips together and pulled away. "No. This isn't funny. I don't want to do this anymore."

Before Camilo could stop him, Antonio jumped out from behind the plant and called out to his jaguar. "Parce! That's enough! Go to the kitchen and I'll give you the food I promised. Just leave Mariano alone."

Parce looked almost disappointed for a moment, but at the promise of fresh meat, got over it and headed eagerly toward the kitchen. Mariano remained where he was, pressed against the wall and trying to reel himself back in from the shock.

Antonio lagged behind and turned to Camilo, almost looking like he was expecting a scolding. Camilo suddenly felt guilty for the first time that day, as his brother looked downward with sad eyes and a pout.

"Sorry, Milo…"

Camilo let out a breath and waved Antonio back over. "No, no, it's okay. You were right, that was mean and I shouldn't have made you do it." He patted his shoulder again with a grin. "Go feed your pet. I'll handle the rest."

Antonio seemed to feel a little better at least. He nodded and hurried off, leaving Camilo to deal with the aftermath. He looked downstairs to where Mariano was getting back up from his spot, checking his body to make sure that he hadn't, in fact, been mauled and killed by a jaguar. And he still didn't seem to notice that Camilo was there. Perfect.

With perfected skill and ease, Camilo transformed into a perfect imitation of his father, Félix. He stood up from behind the plant snd leaned against the railing in front of him, staring down in disapproval at Mariano as if he had been watching all along.

"You failed."

Mariano's eyes snapped upward toward his voice. "S—Señor? W-wait, I don't understand. The—the jaguar…what just happened?"

Camilo rolled his eyes. "Use your brain, Guzman. Why, exactly, would there be jaguar in Casa Madrigal?"

Mariano blinked. "It's…one of Antonio's, right?"

"So you figured out that it was Antonio's animal, but you didn't stop to think and realize that Antonio's animals never attack humans?"

Mariano's jaw dropped snd he sputtered. "Well, I thought—the boy wasn't around, so I thought that—!"

"Are you implying that my son can't control his animals? His Gift?"

"N-no, sir! It's just that—it was a jaguar, sir!"

"Félix" shook his head in disappointment. "This was a test, mijo. A test to see how well you can keep your wits about you under stressful situations. If you can't handle Antonio's jaguar, how will you handle the truly scary situations—like parenting?"

Mariano just gaped at him.

Camilo moved his gaze down to Mariano's flip-flops. "And…judging by your lack of proper footwear, it looks like you failed the Test of Caution and Preparedness as well, hmm?" He gave disapproving tut-tut-tut like he'd heard his parents do so many times. "I gotta say, it's not looking too good for you so far, bro."

"Wh—are you—you mean this trial thing is real?!"

"Of course it's real! What, do you think our family traditions are a joke?!"

"I didn't mean that! I'm sorry, I just—I wasn't ready!" He took a step forward, holding out his hands to plead with him. "Let me start over, I'll prove myself!"

"You were already told that you would be starting immediately. There's no excuse for not being ready." He held up his hand before Mariano could speak again. "I hope now you know to prepare for the next one, but based on what I've seen so far, I'm not holding my breath."

With that, Camilo turned around dramatically and left the scene. Mariano didn't say anything more, which just made it all the more satisfying.

Once Camilo got to his room, he changed back into his normal self and allowed himself to laugh once more. That was hilarious. Sure, he regretted upsetting Antonio, but he certainly did not regret watching Mariano falling all over his stupid self, both in front of the jaguar and in front of who he thought was his future father-in-law.

Now he just had to plan as many surprises as he could for Mariano. Dolores had most certainly heard the entire ordeal, and Camilo only had a limited amount of time before she came and put a stop to his fun.

Mariano was still in a bit of a daze as he left the house, wandering back into the streets of the village. He kept replaying the events that had just happened—surely releasing a jaguar on someone was a little excessive, right? Then again, if one did have access to a fully-controllable jaguar, it made sense to use it in some sort of harrowing trial. He supposed.

"Amor?"

Mariano snapped out of his thoughts. He knew that voice anywhere, even if it was just a whisper in the crowd. He turned around to see his beloved Dolores hurrying his way, a worried frown on her face. (And it was definitely the real Dolores this time—Camilo was no good at imitating female voices). Mariano sighed with relief at the sight of her. "Dolores…"

Dolores threw her arms around him as soon as she was close enough. "Oh, my poor darling. I heard everything that happened! Are you okay?"

Mariano hugged her back, already feeling steadier. "Yes, mi vida, I'm okay. Just shaken…"

"You're swaying on your feet. Come on, let's go sit down somewhere and you can tell me what happened." Dolores took him by the hand and led him to a nearby bench, away from most of the noise. Mariano allowed himself to relax, as his girlfriend continued rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. The concerned frown on her face told him that she was waiting for him to speak, but didn't want to push it.

"Well…" Mariano began hesitantly. "The note said I'm not supposed to discuss the trials with you, so…I don't know how much I can say."

This just made Dolores look more confused. "What trials? I heard you talking about them but I couldn't piece together what it meant."

"Don't you have those traditional trials for when someone wants to join the family? That's what the note said…here, let me show you." He pulled out the crumpled note from his pocket and handed it to her. "I-I thought it was a prank at first, which was why I went to your house to ask someone, and then….well, yeah."

Dolores quickly read over the note, her face scrunching more and more in disgust as she went. "This is a complete lie. There are no trials. No one in our family has ever had to do this."

"But…just now, your dad said—"

"That wasn't my father, that was Camilo. All of this is just some cruel trick he concocted to mess with you!" Furious, she crumpled the paper up in her hand. "I can't believe him! When I get my hands on that boy, I swear…"

Dolores continued muttering angrily under her breath as Mariano let the information sink in. Huh. Dolores' explanation made perfect sense. He'd been right to be suspicious, but in all the chaos, he'd just believed what he'd heard. Maybe Félix—er, Camilo—had been right about him. He really hadn't kept a cool head under pressure, had he?

Was he…not a suitable partner for Dolores?

Mariano suddenly sat up straight, a sudden burst of both worry and determination buzzing through his body. "Wait," he said, causing Dolores to stop her ranting. "Maybe it's not a family tradition, but your brother did this for a reason. He's testing me. He's testing to see if I'm good enough for you."

Dolores blinked, incredulous, but then rolled her eyes. "You're giving him too much credit, amor. Camilo doesn't care about our relationship, he never has. He's just being mean. But I'll put a stop to it, don't worry. Honestly, his pranking has gone way too far this time…"

Mariano vehemently shook his head, his mind suddenly going back to the previous day's encounter with Camilo, to the suspicion and disgust that had been clear as day on the boy's face. How could he have dismissed that? "No, I'm sure of it, Dolores," he said. "He's worried, this is just his way of showing it. And that's no good. I can't have my girlfriend's family distrusting me. If Camilo wants me to prove myself worthy, I will!"

He stood, suddenly filled with resolve. "Even if his schemes are all rigged to make me fail, I'll still earn his respect when he sees my willpower and dedication—to you, my dear, and to the family."

Dolores stood up too, eyes wide. "Oh, um—that's so sweet, but you really don't need to do that."

"Perhaps not," Mariano shrugged. "But if it means proving to your family how much I love and adore you, I wouldn't mind bearing the humiliation at all." With that, he gave Dolores a kiss on the forehead, before turning and walking away, feeling ready for whatever came next.

Not a few steps later, and he was approached by Farmer José, who handed him a large box. "There you are, Mariano. Here's that all-natural fertilizer you ordered yesterday. Good luck with the new gardening venture!"

Mariano blinked in confusion as the farmer walked away. Judging by the smell coming from inside the container, and the fact that Mariano had not started a gardening venture and did not order fertilizer, it was easy to piece together what had happened. Camilo had arranged for Mariano to be handed a box of…waste.

Briefly, he turned once more to Dolores, who was frowning again. Mariano flashed her a smile, cool as a cucumber, and went on his way, unfazed. Meanwhile, Dolores remained where she was, most likely plotting her brother's murder.

Mirabel was in the middle of one of her sewing projects when Camilo sought her out later that day. He leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom and announced his presence with a verbal "knock knock."

Mirabel looked up at him and grinned. "Hey, look who it is. Antonio told me all about the Great Jaguar Incident. So you're tormenting Mariano now, are you?"

Camilo smirked. "Tormenting is a good word. I like it. And speaking of, I need your help."

"Uh-oh."

Camilo walked over to a chair next to Mirabel and plopped himself down. She stopped sewing to pay attention. "It's nothing crazy," he told her. "I just need you to distract Tío Bruno."

Mirabel raised an eyebrow. "Tío Bruno? Why?"

"Cause I need to borrow his room for a bit. Nothing is more of a 'trial' than that place." He leaned back, a gleam him his eyes as he started outlining his plan. "See, I could feed Mariano some nonsense about 'testing his dedication to a future with Dolores' or something. Then he'll be forced fo climb all those stairs for a vision and then—" he stifled a laugh. "—Tío Bruno won't even be there! It'll be a complete exercise in futility!"

Mirabel stared at her cousin in fascination, watching him cackle with an oddly childlike excitement.

"And that's where you come in, just make sure Tío Bruno isn't actually in his room. You're the one who always hangs out with him, so just—I dunno, do what you always do. Make some clothes for his rats or something."

Mirabel snorted. "Rat clothes. Alright. Uh, there's just one little teeny flaw with your plan, Camilo. Tío Bruno's room doesn't have a million stairs in it anymore."

Camilo's face fell. "What?"

"Haven't you been in there since the rebuilding?"

His face scrunched up. "I haven't been in there since I was like, three. And all I remember is stairs."

"Not anymore, sorry. There's only like ten of them now."

"Ugh!" Camilo threw his arms up in frustration. "Seriously? Of all the times for our creepy uncle to stop being creepy."

Mirabel frowned. "He's not creepy."

"Yeah, okay, Bruno Defense Squad. Whatever. But now you've gotta help me think of something else."

"Camilo Madrigal."

Both teenagers whipped their heads toward the new voice. Dolores stood in the doorway, fuming as her glare threatened to pierce a hole in her brother's skull.

Mirabel quickly went back to her sewing as if the other two weren't there. Camilo, keeping a cool head, stood to greet her.

"Ah, my dear sister," he crooned. "How has your day been going?"

"Don't you 'dear sister' me," Dolores snapped. "I know all about that stunt you pulled!" She pulled out a crumpled note from her pocket, the one he'd sent Mariano, and waved it in the air. "And for your information, I've already told Mariano the truth, so the jig is up."

Camilo scoffed and crossed his arms. "Man. I was hoping to get a couple more pranks in first. Killjoy."

Dolores' face seemed to turn red with anger. "What is wrong with you? Why would you even do this? What would possess you to go so far as to send Antonio's jaguar after my boyfriend?"

"It was harmless. You know it wasn't going to do anything to him."

"I don't care, it was messed up! Listen, you leave Mariano alone, got it? No more trials or pranks or whatever this is. If I hear that you're bothering him again, I will get Mamà involved, and you'll be grounded for life. This is your only warning, Camilo!"

Finished with her speech, Dolores whirled on her heel and marched out of Mirabel's room.

Camilo shrugged the second she was gone, completely unhindered. He turned back to Mirabel, who had been avoiding eye contact with anyone during that whole scene, and talked to her as if nothing had happened. "So, how much of a physical challenge do you think Luisa's room presents?"

The next morning, another note had someone found its way to Mariano's house. This time, though, he was ready for it.

Dolores may have told you the truth, but I'm not done testing you yet.

6:00 PM, tonight. If you're man enough, go to Casa Madrigal. You'll know what to do from there.

That was certainly ominous, but Mariano didn't let himself be intimidated. He pocketed the note and opened the door, checking thoroughly for any glue, or buckets, or tripwires, or whatever else Camilo could have thought of. Caution and preparation? Check. (Paranoia? Probably. Check!)

Mariano went about the rest of his day as normal. Mostly, aside from even more strange deliveries that he had definitely requested, and a wild goose chase around lunchtime for a missing earring that belonged to Señor Pezmuerte's mother's nephew's wife's cousin's—okay, he really should have figured that one was fake sooner.

And there were plenty of other things. But hey, if Mariano said so himself, he was doing pretty well on whatever these trials were supposed to be testing. Helpfulness? Check. Keeping his wits about him in strange circumstances? Check and double check. Pranks as they may be, these "trials" were actually making him into a better, more responsible man for Dolores. So he liked to believe, anyway. Whatever Camilo had planned for him that evening, he would face it with a smile. Even if it was guaranteed failure.

An hour before dinner that evening, Dolores burst into her parents' room in a fit of frustration. "Mamà! You've got to tell Camilo to stop!"

Her mother was seated on a chair with Antonio in front of her as she brushed his hair. Her father was in the room as well, currently putting clothes away in his closet.

Pepa didn't look up as Dolores came in. "You're going to have to be more specific, mija."

Dolores pulled the prank note out again and handed it over to her mom. "This. He's chosen Mariano as a target for his stupid pranks and he hasn't left him alone for two days! He even made poor Antonio join in and scared Mariano with his jaguar! I told him to stop, but he doesn't care! I don't know what his problem is all of a sudden."

Pepa's eyes scanned the paper, and Dolores put her hands over her ears in preparation. Any second now, her mother would go storming out of the room—literally and figuratively. But instead, her reaction was nothing that Dolores expected. Pepa put a hand over her heart and smiled widely, a soft "awww!" escaping her as she started only drizzling slightly.

"Félix, come look at this," Pepa giggled, ignoring her confused daughter.

Félix walked over, took the note and read it. Then he smiled too. "Ah, so that's what this is all about. History repeats itself, eh, Pepa?"

"He's so sweet."

Dolores sputtered in confusion. "Wh—sweet? What part of this is sweet?"

Pepa turned back to her, eyelids crinkling with her smile, and a little teary. "Isn't it obvious? Your brother's feeling protective of you, sweetheart."

"Ugh, no!" Dolores growled in frustration. "That's just his flimsy excuse to play tricks! Camilo doesn't care!"

"Is that really what you think?" Pepa asked. She went back to brushing Antonio's hair as the little one watched them all curiously. "He's your family, of course he cares. Even the most annoying little brothers turn protective when their sisters start dating. They just show it in their own ways."

"And you know, he's not completely wrong about this being a family tradition," Félix added with a wink. "Not exactly an official one, but it's definitely happened before."

Pepa rolled her eyes good-naturedly with a sigh. "Ay, you should have seen the things your Tío Bruno did to your poor father. I screamed my lungs out at him back then."

"Forget that. You should have seen the things he did to Agustín."

Pepa's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, Agustín," she whispered. She stared straight ahead, shaking her head with pity. "The poor man. He was traumatized."

Dolores stood with her mouth agape, only feeling more and more questions fill her head as her parents continued talking. Questions such as How is this actually a real family tradition? and What in God's name did Bruno do? and most importantly, "Camilo's going to traumatize Mariano?!"

Her eyes fell in horror toward Antonio, and she remembered what had already happened. "Oh my God," she whispered. "He already has, hasn't he?"

"Dolores, deep breaths, chica, we were exaggerating," Félix said to her, a soothing smile on his face. "Everything is going to be fine, Mariano's going to be fine. If anything, based on past patterns, I say this is a good sign for the future, eh?"

Dolores pressed her lips together, nervously bouncing her foot. "But, I can't just sit around and let it happen. What if he drives Mariano away? What if—hm!" Her ears suddenly perked up. The rest of the family went quiet as Dolores listened intently to something happening nearby.

The color drained from Dolores's face as she realized in horror what was happening. "Oh my God…" she whispered. "He's here."

When Mariano arrived at Casa Madrigal, he didn't even need to knock. The door creaked open on its own, into the empty courtyard. A tile tapped against his foot as he entered, and he looked down to see it flip over and turn red. As did several of the tiles around it, making a path that led right up the stairs and toward the magical rooms. So even Casita was in on Camilo's theatrics. Okay. He'd bite.

Mariano followed the path upstairs until he found himself in front of Camilo's room. Concerning. He would definitely be at a disadvantage in Camilo's home turf, but he wasn't here to win, only to prove his dedication. In he went.

There was soft music playing inside the room, and as Mariano's eyes adjusted to the low lighting he realized he was in what looked like a bar. What did this have to do with shapeshifting? There was no time to wonder about that, as he spotted a man behind the counter who looked suspiciously like the owner of the local pub.

"You actually showed up," the man said, not bothering to disguise his voice. "I honestly thought you'd chicken out."

Mariano hesitated. "No…I'm here. I'm ready."

"Hmm," Camilo replied. "We'll see. Sit down, Mariano, have a drink. On the house." He waved him over and started pouring two glasses for the two of them. "Cider," he clarified. "I'm not allowed to serve real drinks until my parents say I'm old enough."

Mariano gave a somewhat forced chuckle. He sat down and accepted the drink. They both went quiet. Camilo shifted back into his usual self, and Mariano watched the room around them change back to normal as well—normal meaning that they were on an empty stage, that is. Mariano kept his attention on Camilo, who was swirling his drink around and looking disinterested.

The anticipation threatening to break him, Mariano cleared his throat. "Listen, uh…is this about what happened the other day?" He paused as Camilo gave him a sidelong glance. "Because I—I'm very sorry if I made you uncomfortable. If I had known—"

"Nah, it's not that," Camilo interrupted. "That's just the kind of thing that happens in cases of mistaken identity, you know how it is. I know how to stop it before anything crazy happens. It's weird, it's awkward, but we can always laugh about it later."

"Oh," Mariano said dumbly. "Okay." Another pause. "Then…you're upset about how I approached quote-unquote 'Dolores,' is that right? You're worried that my intentions with her are less than pure."

This time, Camilo just turned to watch him critically, not responding.

"I knew it," Mariano continued triumphantly. "In that case, let me reassure you—I have nothing but respect for your sister. She's my whole world. I know I can be affectionate, but I have no intention of doing anything indecent or anything intimate with her before we marry. And certainly nothing that she hasn't already told me she's okay with. You have my word on that."

Camilo listened quietly, his expression remaining neutral. Once Mariano finished, he allowed himself a disbelieving smirk. "Nice speech," he told him. "But you know, I could be doing all this to you just because it's funny."

Mariano grinned back. "Ah, I don't believe that. You pretend to be indifferent, but I know you're a good kid." He downed the rest of the drink and sat up straighter, confident. "So, to prove to you that you have nothing to worry about, I'm prepared to face whatever trials you have for me. I'll show you that my dedication to Dolores is more than just some shallow desire, and can withstand any amount of humiliation or failure you throw at me. Go on, do your worst. I'm ready."

Camilo watched him more intently, the smile on his face looking more genuine. "Huh. I gotta say, I'm impressed. You came in here with confidence, bravery, not knowing what I'm going to do, even after finding out the whole thing was a setup. Not bad. A lot of guys would have ignored me, or turned tail and ran."

Mariano blinked, a twinge of hope settling in his gut. "I'm glad to hear you say that." He stopped to observe his adversary, who was still smiling at him. "So….was that it? Did I pass the test?"

Camilo's grin shifted from benevolent to anything but, as he threw his head back and laughed. No, he cackled. This was an evil laugh, the kind Mariano had only heard from villains in old fairy tales.

"Hahaha! Oh, Mariano. You're hilarious."

The floor slid out from underneath Mariano and he found himself being tossed into the air. He landed flat on his back, winded for only a moment before realizing that the whole room had turned into a huge circular treadmill. Camilo, who looked a whole lot like Luisa, was watching him cooly from a platform above.

Mariano stood himself up and started running, like a hamster in a wheel. No problem. This was child's play. "So, what are we testing this time?" He asked cheerfully. "Endurance? Adaptability?"

"Eh, I'm too lazy to come up with a justification this time," Camilo said. "Honestly, I'm just seeing how much I can mess with you until you break."

The motion started getting faster and faster until Mariano was thrown off. Thankfully, this time, he was stopped from hitting the wall when the area around him suddenly filled with water and Mariano floated upward (really, the shapeshifting environment in Camilo's room was quite impressive. Mariano would have complimented it if it wasn't currently being wielded against him). He surfaced to see Camilo floating by as a strapping young swimmer.

"Going for a swim?" Camilo asked.

"Oh yeah. Actually, it's kinda nice, I was thinking it was a little warm today—ahh, something touched me!"

Camilo laughed at him again. Mariano paused.

"But…it's harmless, right?" Mariano asked, admittedly proud of himself. "Because it's here, in your room, where everything is but an ever-shifting illusion."

Camilo blinked, sneering. "What's this? Progress? We can't have that."

The room changed again. Mariano found himself cycling through a variety of harrowing sets clearly designed to screw with him as much as possible. A bottomless pit. A swirling tomb of sand (accompanied by a rather unflattering portrayal of Bruno). A creepy, abandoned house. A pressure compactor. A very aggressive game of dodgeball. And Mariano happily endured it all. For her.

At some point, while Mariano was on a slippery layer of ice, Camilo, in the form of a figure skater, easily slid over to him and gave a sympathetic sigh. "Is it really worth all this, amigo? You know Dolores is going to get bored of you eventually, right? She's too good for you."

Ah. Psychological warfare. Admittedly, those words were rather anxiety-inducing—Mariano himself had wondered if that would end up happening sooner or later. But he stood up as straight as he could and kept up his smile.

"You're right. She is too good for me," he replied. "That's why I count myself infinitely lucky that she even looks my way. It's a honor, and I—aah!" He slipped and fell. Camilo was staring down at him, unimpressed, but Mariano continued. "I won't take that for granted. Ever. So even if I only get to be with her for another day, or even an hour—that alone will be worth any trial and tribulation I have to endure. All I need to give me strength is to picture her smiling face."

Camilo rolled his eyes, irritated, and kept glaring down at him as he sat up. "All that waxing poetic might work on her, Guzman, but not me."

"It's not waxing poetic. It's the truth," Mariano insisted. "You've put me through the gauntlet, haven't you? I came here willingly just to prove to you just how dedicated I am to her. If you haven't seen enough yet, go ahead and keep going. I won't stop until you're convinced that I love her, and that you can trust me."

Camilo's face looked conflicted. On the one hand, he looked surprised, perhaps even impressed, by how unyielding Mariano was. But on the other hand, his glare held a stubbornness of its own, frustrated, as the room started to change yet again…

"Camilo! Stop!"

Like a switch had been hit, the room suddenly went back to its normal state. Camilo was back to his regular look, Mariano had to blink to adjust to the lights. Both young men looked up to see Dolores by the door, her hands covering her ears (recovering from the way she'd actually shouted), and her eyes on Camilo.

"That's enough," she said, voice back to her usual whisper. "You don't need to do this anymore." Dolores made her way down the aisles and up to the stage, approaching Mariano first. "Are you alright?" She asked. She knelt down to him and held out a freshly-baked arepa. "This is one of my tía's. I brought it just in case."

Mariano chuckled and gently refused the food. "Thanks, but I don't need it. Despite how it seemed, Camilo was being very careful with me. I'm only a little winded."

They both stood up, still gazing into each other's eyes. "Did you mean all that stuff you said about me?" Dolores asked.

"Of course. Every word."

"A-hem." Camilo cut in, drawing their attention. "Still in my room, remember?"

Dolores turned to him, grinning, and put her hands on her hips. "Camilo, everything Mariano said was true. He is a gentleman. And besides, do you really think he'd have ulterior motives without me knowing about it?"

Camilo scoffed. He crossed his arms stubbornly and looked away. "You don't know everything…" he mumbled.

"I know a lot more than you," she chuckled.

Camilo didn't reply, still pouting childishly but looking somewhat more swayed than before. Perhaps hearing it from Dolores herself made a difference. Mariano and Dolores shared a knowing glance and Dolores shot a cheeky grin at her little brother.

"Aww, Milo," she cooed. "Is it true? Were you doing all of this because you were worried about me?"

"Pssh, no," Camilo stammered, flushing. "I-I was doing it because it's funny."

"Oop, Milo, your heart beats differently when you lie, you know." Dolores burst into giggles at Camilo's scandalized face. "Mamà was right! You do care! Awww, my precious little hermanito!"

Dolores hurried to him with her arms wide open for a hug, making Camilo back away in fear.

"No, no, no, hey, stop! Auuugh!" He groaned loudly as his sister caught him, trapped him in a hug and planted a huge, affectionate kiss on his cheek. "Eww, grooooss! Alright, I'm sorry, okay? I won't bother him anymore! Just, anything but this! Ugh!"

Dolores giggled and didn't let go of him despite his protests. Mariano couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he made his way over to them.

"I just love seeing happy families!" Mariano declared, happy tears in his eyes as he hugged Camilo from the other side. The boy was now thoroughly squeezed between the two of them, feet off the floor, muttering in annoyance but barely struggling. Finally, he just sighed and accepted his fate. It seemed that the protective beast in him had finally been placated…for now.

Another member suddenly joined in the hug, and they all looked down to see Antonio hugging his older brother's legs, smiling contentedly.

Camilo sighed. "Where'd you come from?"

Antonio looked up at him, eyes sweet and full of joy, and said, "Mamà's room. She says you're grounded."