The miles passed quickly, but even as they came closer to the De La Vega Hacienda, Bernardo felt uneasy and anxious to get inside the hacienda. His fears were confirmed when, as they passed some trees, eight men were blocking the road. Two of them were the men Bernardo had seen in the tavern. Diego looked at Bernardo, and immediately knew this was what the mozo had been worried about. "Get down." A man said, stepping towards the three. Emera did so, looking over at Diego. Before she could react, one of the bandits grabbed her right arm and held it behind her, and there was a pistol in her side. She saw Diego and Bernardo were granted the same treatment. "You have money, right?" The man, the same one who told them to get down, who Diego had guessed was the leader, asked. "You must. You look rich." Diego reached into his pocket and pulled out his moneybag then pulled his ring off. "Good." The leader nodded, "Put the ring in the bag and throw it over here!" Diego did so. Emera studied the leader as he picked the bag up. He was probably just a little shorter than Diego, with light brown hair that was cut just above his ears. His face was unshaven, and his dirty clothes gave him a very rugged appearance. The man looked at the bag for a moment before tossing it to one of the bandits standing behind him. "Oh, you're pretty." He said, "What's yer name?"
"Katherine." Emera lied. "Katherine, huh? Pretty name…" The man muttered. Emera got the chills as the man stared at her. Emera was really tempted to kick him, but she thought better of it. "Give me all of your stuff." He said roughly. " I don't have anything and even if I did I wouldn't just give it to you. You..pig!" Emera declared, mad. "Well, we've got a fiery little thing here." The man smiled, "Good. I like that." Emera didn't like the smile plastered on the man's face as he brought his had up to her face. "Get off me, you freak!" Emera shouted, kicking him in the leg. The man fell, holding his leg. "Wench!" He shouted, springing up and slapping her so hard it knocked her down. Diego shrugged away from the men holding him and knocked the man down, but before anything else could happen, four men jumped Diego and he was knocked unconscious.