During the following days, both Zafira and Victoria avoided Diego, the two of them moving out of the room they were sharing with him since he no longer seemed in need of supervision. That, however, didn't mean they started talking to each other more or that they acknowledged their rivalry. All they did was avoid thinking about what bothered them: the fact that the tall caballero seemed to love another, one hating that particular truth and the other trying to deny it even mattered to her. They, thus, took refuge in their work, Zafira doing her best to care for the injured men and using much of her time searching for medicinal herbs, and Victoria spending her days cooking.

Since he felt guilty towards both of them, Diego preferred it that way, despite now feeling quite lonely. During the following days, he hardly said more than a 'Thank you' to either of the two women when they came to check on him or to bring him his meal. Well, he did try to talk to the taverness once but she said there was nothing they needed to talk about, so he didn't insist. Thus, just as they avoided him by throwing themselves into what they enjoyed doing most, he avoided them, occupying his time by reading near the ravine, where nobody was around to disturb him.

Meanwhile, the hacienda where they had found refuge was being overtaken by the rebels as, with each day, their numbers were growing. In just five days after having been summoned by Don Alvaro, about 50 men had turned up, armed and ready to fight.

The house, as well as the adjacent premises, were, thus, overwhelmed by the number of new residents, most of them having to sleep on the floor as there were not enough beds available. During the day, as the don and his men started training them, there was hardly a place in the vicinity of the hacienda where the young De la Vega could avoid hearing the noises of the guns being fired or of the men fighting.

Eventually, having finished reading his book as well as two more he had taken from the house, Diego became curious about the newcomers and their training regimen.

It was a sunny day, during his second week at the Hacienda Serrano, when the caballero resolved that instead of reading, he'd like to spend the morning watching the men train.

The field they used was situated just north of the hacienda, where the hills provided a perfect spot to organize an army while avoiding prying eyes. Stopping to watch while leaning against an old oak, he noticed that the new arrivals were divided into four groups. The first one was training with muskets under Luciano's supervision. The second group was training with pistols while Don Alvaro was explaining to the men what it was they were doing wrong. A third one, led by Juan, was training with swords. Finally, the last one, led by two vaqueros, was dedicated to hand-to-hand combat.

Diego watched them for a few minutes, instinctively looking for and finding faults in the techniques the men were being taught until he started to notice the worried looks he began receiving from some of the people there. It didn't take him long to realize that his presence on the training field seemed to bother the other caballero and his men, which was understandable considering the conversation between Don Alvaro and his vaquero, which the young De la Vega had overheard a few days earlier.

Thus, hoping to prevent his host from becoming further suspicious of him, Diego smiled politely when he saw he was not welcome there, and, resigned, he headed to the library, chose a new book, and again made his way towards the ravine.

He had just chosen a good spot where to sit and was just about to start reading when, a few feet away, he noticed Victoria also engrossed in her own reading. She gazed in his direction just as he saw her and their eyes met, leaving both of them staring, unable to think of what to tell each other.

Eventually, the young woman stood up, cleaned the bottom of her skirt of the dirt and plants which had become entangled in the fabric during the time she had spent sitting down, then headed towards him.

Diego smiled and searched his mind for an idea to open the conversation in order to ease the tension he felt existed between them. "Have you finished the book?" He asked.

Victoria stopped some three feet away from him and glanced at the volume in her hands. "Not yet." She answered. "But I only have a few pages left. Diego…" She continued, trying to figure out how to ask the question on her mind. "Why did you choose this particular book for me?"

"I'm not sure…" He answered. "I guess I just felt it was one you should read. As I already told you, I don't even know what it's about, although I'm quite sure I used to… Will you tell me? Perhaps I will remember…"

Victoria was silent for a while, then nodded slowly, hoping that finding out the subject of the book might trigger Diego's memories so that he could give her an explanation. "It's about a man… well, a king." She said, sitting down on a boulder next to him. "A very clever king called Ulysses, who tries to return home after a war. His journey, though, is very perilous, some pagan gods get involved, and he gets into all sorts of trouble, yet still finds a way to surpass all obstacles in the hope he might see his loved ones again. When he arrives back, though, having spent some 20 years away, nobody recognizes him outside a servant, who only does so because of an old scar she sees on him.

"Worst yet, he finds out that his wife, Penelope, has spent years trying to elude some suitors who have been doing their best to get her to accept her husband is dead and marry one of them instead. Of course, all they want is her money and the throne. They even try to kill her and Ulysses' son to further force her hand. Fortunately, the young man escapes meets with Ulysses and helps his father come up with a plan to get rid of the suitors. Eventually, when Penelope is forced to agree to marry whoever is able to use her husband's bow, Ulysses is recognized because he is the only one able to do so. I have to read more to see what comes next."

"He kills them all… The suitors and some servant girls who had betrayed their mistress." Diego muttered.

"You remember it?" She asked.

"I think I do. Well… some of the story at least."

"Do you also remember why you wanted me to read this particular book?"

"I just thought it would be interesting for you." He replied pensively.

She looked suspiciously at him, then slowly shook her head. "Alright! I just thought… I thought you were trying to tell me something with this story, and I just couldn't figure out what."

"I don't think I was. Was I?" He wondered. "Victoria…" Diego continued as another thought crossed his mind, one that, as bits and pieces of his memory were slowly returning, had bothered him for days at that point, "you said the man you loved died… And you married Juan instead of me… So why did you look so upset when you saw me and Zafira kiss?"

"I… I wasn't upset. I was simply surprised… Surprised to see you kiss a woman who had just lost her husband."

"No… It was more than that! I felt like I was cheating on you with that kiss… and the way you reacted…"

"Cheating? You weren't, so you shouldn't think that! We… The two of us have always only been friends." Victoria answered, becoming defensive.

"Friends? No… I remember now enough to know that there was much more between us…"

"That's not true! All we ever had was friendship!" She denied.

The caballero watched her closely and felt her uneasiness as the words coming out of her mouth seemed unable to even convince her. "Why are you lying to me?" He surprised her by asking as he stood up and Victoria did the same.

"I'm not!" She protested.

"Yes, you are! I can see it in your eyes… and I know how I feel. You broke my heart, just like Zafira did. You both left me.

"But I don't feel upset when it comes to her. I might have once loved her, but I don't anymore. The kiss you witnessed… I regretted it the moment it happened. Yet, when it comes to you… it's different. Every time you're near me, my heart physically aches… and all I want to do is to kiss your sweet lips."

The young woman looked at him with wide eyes, then shook her head. "There has never been anything between us but friendship." She stated categorically, raising her tone at him. "I never gave you reasons to think I saw you as more than just a friend, and you only even mentioned you loved me after I married Juan! And we certainly never kissed, so you can't even know if my lips are sweet!" She defended herself.

"That's not true! How can you say that? I clearly remember kissing you. I even remember making love to you." He uttered, more than a little confused.