Port of San Julian. Winter Quarters. May 20, 1520.

We have seen the first signs that there are people living in this wilderness. Footprints of immense size have been found, but we as yet have not seen the people themselves. The appearance of theses prints has led Magellan to call this land Patagonia.(1)

Exploring new lands is nothing new to me but I have learned that what you find will always surprise you.

Toledo 1516.

I traveled to Arroyo before setting out on my real journey. I had not seen my friend Julian since my uncle took Maria and me to Granada. I went to his home, but found no one. Eventually, I made my way to the hacienda of Don Felipe, where Julian's mother still worked.

"No, Julian isn't here any more," she told me. "Don Felipe had my son accompany him to the New World."

"The New World?" I said in disbelief. "But that is impossible. Julian told me himself that he would never leave Arroyo. That he wished to serve the people here."

Julian's mother wiped a tear from her eye. "He had little choice. Don Felipe would not take no for an answer. I pray everyday that Our Lady will keep him safe."(2)

"I'm sure he will be fine," I said hastily, not wanting to cause her more grief. "I will be going there myself someday and perhaps I will see him." I knew this was unlikely given how large the New World was, but if it gave her some peace...

Her eyes shown as she replied, "Yes, you might. When you do, tell him my heart will always be with him and that I am proud of him."

"Of course," I said, taken aback by her sudden conviction. "I will tell him when I see him." She patted my hand, content. I soon left, despite her attempts to get me to stay for supper. I was anxious to be on my way. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it. Julian, who had never wished to travel, was on his way to the New World and I was struggling to get to Toledo.

Walking, I left Arroyo far behind me that night. When I could go no farther, I slept along the side of the road.

I was free. And looking forward to what the new day would bring.

I stole food and a ride whenever I could and eventually came to the capitol of Spain, Toledo. The city is built on a promontory bordered on three sides by a gorge in the Tagus River, and the landside is protected by inner and outer walls. Towers, old gates, narrow winding streets, massive houses and Moorish architecture give the city an atmosphere all its own. In the center of the city rises the Cathedral, which was only completed a few years ago. I was afraid I would never find Gomez's residence in this huge city but to my surprise everyone seemed to know of it.

Reluctantly, a servant led me into the house. But I was surprised when Señora Ayala greeted me.

"Oh, I am so pleased to see you, Señor Mendoza," she exclaimed, pushing me into a seat. "My husband told me that you refused to join him. What are you doing here in Toledo?"

"I have reconsidered Señor Gomez's offer, Señora. I wish to become a soldier."

"I am sure he will be glad to hear that but he is not here."

"He isn't?" I said, incredulously.

"No, but he will return in a few days."

"I see," I said stupidly, wondering what I was going to do now. I had no money and was in a strange city.

"You are welcome to wait here for him," Señora Ayala Gomez suggested invitingly.

I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Something in her manner made me nervous. But, I had few options, so I replied, "Gracias, Señora, your hospitality is greatly appreciated."

"Good," she said, jumping to her feet and calling for her servants. The one who had shown me in came in with a sour expression on his face.

"Please take Señor Mendoza away," she said.

The servant approached me threateningly, his expression lightening considerably. He grabbed my arm and began to pull me roughly out of the room. I was about to protest to Doña(3) Ayala, when she noticed my predicament.

"Oh no, Juan, I do not want you to throw him out," she laughed. "Take him away and get him cleaned up. He can wear some of Gomez's clothes until I get him some new ones."

The servant and I stood rooted to the spot, surprised by the number and nature of her orders. I noted with some amusement that the serving man's countenance had fallen again and I wondered what his relationship was to the Señora. I also began thinking about what I was to her and worried that I had escaped from one problem only to land in another.

The next few days were a blur. That first day, I was pushed and pulled this way and that and received my first real bath. Before I knew what was happening, I was dressed as a fashionable young nobleman. The next day I was paraded out on the streets of Toledo, led to the tailor and was fitted for a great number clothes, more than I had owned in my whole life before.

I soon began trying to avoid Señora Gomez, finding her company strange and uncomfortable. She was far too flirtatious for a married woman and I had the feeling this was only the beginning.

One day, about a week after my arrival, I was avoiding her in the kitchen. Her cook noticed me and laughed at my predicament. "You are right to hide here, Señor," the woman said. "The Lady would never come in here."

"I'm not hiding, I was just wondering what was for supper tonight," I replied, trying to sound dignified. She nodded, and we held eye contact for a moment...then burst out laughing. "All right, I am hiding, but can you blame me? The wife of the man I need to help me become an officer in the army is trying to seduce me. What else am I to do?"

"There is nothing, Señor," the cook responded, this time more sympathetic, "other than leave Toledo."

"But I can't do that. I have nowhere else to go," I said throwing my hands in the air in exasperation. "At least these things will stop when Gomez returns." The woman only continued to look at me in that sympathetic, pitying way. "It won't stop!" She shook her head. "How can it not? Gomez will surely notice his wife throwing herself at me!"

"He never has before."

"Before! They have only been married for a few months. How can she get away with such things!"

"Love can be blind," was the cook's only reply.

Fortunately, for me, Gomez returned that night. I have rarely been so glad to see anyone. Although Señora Ayala's attention still seemed focused on me (I was beginning to feel a definite kinship between myself and Joseph in the Bible), she was a little less pressing when Gomez was near. Gomez, himself, turned a blind eye to these things or simply didn't see it. I couldn't understand how he could miss it at first, but as time passed I began to figure it out. I believe he didn't want to know. He loved her enough to conceal any fault.

I will never let a woman have such a hold over me.

Gomez and I were to spend a lot of time together in the coming months. I continued to stay in his home when we weren't at the barracks or training. Despite my growing aversion to Ayala, Gomez and I got along very well. In truth, we had a lot in common. Although he was my commanding officer, we talked about many things. I even told him of the "hold" Luis had over me. Both of our parents had died years ago and we had no other family we could turn too. Our families weren't rich, but at least Gomez had an aristocratic ancestry to help him get his position in the King's army. But his advancement to the rank of Lieutenant, without seeing any action to warrant such a rise in rank, bothered him. Which was why, he told me, that he requested to be sent to the New World. He wanted to prove himself.

"I am surprised that you would marry months before you will be reassigned to the New World," I noted. The personal comment didn't seem to bother Gomez.

"I didn't plan on meeting Ayala or everything that has happened since," Gomez smiled, something I didn't see happen often. "Some things are ordained by fate."

"Fate can be strange," I said softly.

Gomez seemed pleased to take me on as his prodigy. I went with him to his division and I was officially made a soldier of His Majesty, King Charles I. Over the coming months, I began learning to ride a horse, to fire a pistol, and military tactics and history. But sword fighting was where I excelled. I had never handled a sword before in my life, but found that I had a natural ability. Even Gomez's superiors were impressed and praised him for finding me. Within the year that I was in Toledo, I was promoted to Sergeant and everyone said I would have a brilliant career in the army.

But that was not to be.

Word came after several months that Lieutenant Gomez's company was being sent to Cuba. I was overjoyed! I was going to the New World at last, and getting away from Lady Ayala. I thought I was finally safe, but sometimes my luck deserts me.

Gomez left two weeks before we were to sail to see to the final preparations. I was to lead the company a week later to Seville were we would sail for Cuba.

I managed to stay very busy that last week and entirely avoided Ayala. That last night before the company was to march to Seville, I was lying in bed, thinking of how my fortunes had changed. Only a year ago, I was practically a slave and now here I was about to lead a company of soldiers. And I was going to the New World. Perhaps I will see Julian again, I thought. At that moment, anything seemed possible. The night breeze blew gently through my open window, cooling the room.

I had just dropped off to sleep when I felt something brush against my lips. I started awake. And fell out of bed when I saw Ayala lying next to me.

She laughed. "I can't be that terrifying."

"Señora, please, you shouldn't be here."

She laughed again. "And where should I be? Is this not my home?"

"Yes, it is your home," I replied, "and Gomez's."

Her features twisted in anger, "I care nothing for him."

"He cares for you, deeply," I said, trying to distract her as I inched very slowly along the wall.

"Then he is a bigger fool than I had imagined," she spat. "This marriage is a business arrangement between him and my father. Nothing more. My father now has a daughter with noble connections and Gomez has my money. There cannot be anything else between us." She looked at me and smiled. "But you...I like you. Ever since you saved my life, I felt there is something between us." She moved toward me with the grace and beauty of a cat. A very dangerous one.

"Lady, please," I implored one last time. "Gomez is my commanding officer and I believe him to be a friend. I am a guest in his home and you are his wife! I will not betray his trust!"

She continued her advance. "You are nothing to him but a tool, a means to further his own career. And if you don't see this...then perhaps you are a fool, too."

At that moment I made my move. I rushed past her to the window to make my escape. But as fast as I was, she was quicker. She threw her arms around my neck and, with surprising strength, pulled my lips to hers. The kiss was short. I pushed away form her with such force that I threw her to the ground.

She looked up at me, her beauty becoming twisted, her eyes now burning with hate.

I looked at her with disgust and jumped out of the window, running all the way to the army barracks. All the things I needed were already there. I roused the men in the dark and we marched for Seville before dawn.

Author's Notes

1) Means 'Big Feet'.

2) For more on Julian's adventures in the New World, read the Scott O'Dell books The Captive, The Feathered Serpent, and The Amethyst Ring.

3) Spanish honorific meaning Lady. Don is the male equivalent.

Inspiration: Poor Gomez! I am really evil to the poor man in this chapter. Why did I do this? Well, I wanted Mendoza and him to have known each other for some time. Some of their comments about one another in the series make me think this is not impossible. Why did I create Ayala? For fun. I knew that I would have to make Mendoza and Gomez have a big falling out before the beginning of the series and originally planned something quite different...and much more boring. I liked the tension that this created even if it seemed to be a bit soap opera-ish to me. Still, I have received more positive comments about this section of the story than any other, so I guess I did something right. :D