Moving at a rather slow pace in the hope they would spare the injured men some pain, and making sure to erase their tracks, doubling back a few times to confuse their possible pursuers, the party managed to get to the promised destination the following day, just a little after nightfall.

Don Alvaro Serrano was an avid supporter of the revolution and an acquaintance of the De la Vegas, just as most of the Californian caballeros. He was away on business at the time of the group's arrival, but his servants already had orders to support Correna's men as well as they could, so they carefully guided them towards a secret annex to the main house, hidden behind a massive bookcase in the library.

The place itself had been previously used as a hideout for the household during Indian attacks, but for the last few decades, since the latest Indian rebellion affecting the region, it had sat mostly forgotten, until the don decided to join Correna's cause and started using it as a hiding place for those in need of one.

The refugees were, thus, taken through a short labyrinth of small corridors, which led to a system of cellars, and, from there, to another exit. That second way out, hidden behind overgrown plants, led to a ravine situated just outside the walls of the hacienda, and had been created to provide a second escape route for those in need.

As a shelter, the rebels' temporary home wasn't very large but was made up of four different rooms and they were given enough blankets to protect them from the cold ground. An outdoor kitchen normally used for the vaqueros and situated just close enough to the hidden exit to the cellars was to also be used to provide them with food. As for medical care, since they couldn't run the risk of calling a doctor, Zafira was all they had.

The young woman had been a nurse in her youth, at least for a short period of time, and had learned enough to be able to deal with most types of injuries. Head wounds, however, she didn't know that much about.

By the time they had gotten to the Hacienda Serrano, Diego was doing a little better, despite his incapacity to hold anything down. The previous night's rest as well as the cold compressions Victoria had been applying to his head injury had been working wonders for his ability to stay awake. His memory, however, had yet to return.

The caballero was taken to a small, stuffy room, a bit warmer than the rest, and closer to the corridors leading to the entrance from the hacienda, one he only had to share with his two caretakers. Juan, despite the fact that he was married to Victoria, decided to sleep with the other men, soon befriending Luciano.

As for the two young women, they instinctively engaged in an unacknowledged competition to win again Diego's heart, fussing over him and occasionally arguing about what they should do to make him feel more comfortable and help him regain his memory.

ZZZ

Diego was weak for the following few days, still unable to move much, but, as his nausea subsided under the attention of the two young women, he was becoming stronger by the day. He was still dizzy when trying to stand up, and, as some memories flashed into his conscious mind on occasion, he was having headaches, but still he seemed to be getting better.

Zafira and Victoria were still keeping vigil on him, though, during the night taking turns watching over him, and during the day taking turns trying to help him remember his past.

Joaquin's men, who were still mourning the loss of their leader and their comrades, were more than a little upset with his widow's behavior, most of them having easily realized that the young woman was trying to win the caballero's heart. That certainly didn't sit well with them, considering they believed she should be in mourning out of respect for her husband's memory, not chasing after a don who had nothing to do with their cause. Yet nothing they did or said affected her actions in any way for Zafira was certain that was her second chance to a life with the man she truly loved.

Victoria, on the other hand, was more than a little confused, sleep-deprived – as worries, doubts and fears barely allowed her to rest at night – and insanely jealous of the other woman sharing the small stuffy room with her and Diego. That feeling seemed unexplainable to her since she kept reminding herself that she was a married woman who didn't love the caballero as a woman would a lover and that all she truly wanted, or, rather, all she was supposed to want, was for him to be safe and happy.

Diego, though, sometimes mumbled her name in his sleep, which, since she was usually awake to hear it, made her smile at realizing something inside him still remembered her. The same thought would then cause her to become even sadder, chiding herself for her mistakes and cursing her fate.

About four days after they had arrived at the Serrano Hacienda, Diego had started getting up on his own, taking a few steps while leaning heavily against the walls, yet insisting on doing his 'exercise' nonetheless. The two women continued to tend to him and, as they did so, their jealousy of one another kept growing, making their patient increasingly uncomfortable, especially considering Juan was usually in the adjacent room.

In fact, it was the need to escape them both why Diego had been insisting to start walking despite his headaches. For some reason, even if he didn't yet remember much about either one of the two women, he was certain they were both very important to him, just as he was certain they had both broken his heart by marrying other men.

On his fifth day there, taking advantage of the fact that he had been left alone for a while, the two women having gone to prepare food for everyone in the outdoor kitchen, Diego forced himself to stand on his own, and, slowly making his way through the claustrophobic passages, guided by instinct rather than the memory of his first night there, he found himself before the hidden doorway to the hacienda, through which he exited to the library.

Once there, after taking a look around the room, he perused the volumes on the shelves and chose a couple of books he was certain he'd find useful, then two more to give Victoria and Zafira, in an effort to get them to give him some peace.