Seeing Spain was a dream come true for Diego. He had been born there but, having left with his parents when he was just a baby, he had no memories of the Old World.

Thus, the first few months, the 18-year-old spent in wonder of everything he saw and all he had the chance to learn. His grandfather on his mother's side was still alive and welcomed him with open arms. As for the Californian, he could not be happier to finally meet the man he had written to and received letters from his entire life.

During the week, he was in university, devouring every book he could get his hands on, attending classes, and taking fencing lessons with Sir Edmund Kendall. His Saturdays, he'd spend visiting his grandfather and sightseeing, wondering about Madrid, and drawing old buildings for his architecture class.

It didn't take long for his professors to notice him for both his brilliant mind and his interest in learning, and many soon decided he was most probably the best of their students.

True, one of the seniors, a certain Ignacio de Soto, was considered just as bright as him, seeing how the man had obtained perfect grades since his second year.

De Soto was the most esteemed of the students before Diego came along. Son of a farmer and the disinherited daughter of a nobleman, Ignacio was the proud sort, though he did seem to make an effort to seem rather friendly, especially with the richest of his colleagues.

While in different years, De Soto's and the young De la Vega's paths did cross quite a few times, the former always being quite friendly. Then, on New Year's Eve, things changed.

After the winter holidays, De Soto remained cordial, but started treating the Californian formally and seemed no longer interested in any sort of friendship with him.

"I believe he might be jealous." Emmanuel Dos Santos, Diego's closest friend and roommate told him one day.

"What would he be jealous about?"

"I think he doesn't much like people who are smarter than him."

"I don't consider myself as such. Besides, he is older."

"Which makes it that much more difficult for him to lose arguments to you. But I don't think that's all he's jealous about. I saw the way he looked at you when you danced with Magdalena, the headmaster's daughter, at the fiesta on New Year's Eve. I was almost afraid he might decide to challenge you to a duel right then and there. Rumor has it he had been trying his hand at courting her for a while now."

"But I have no interest in Magdalena. A dance means nothing…"

"That might be so. But that doesn't mean the girl is not interested in you."

"I doubt it. Even so, my heart already belongs to another señorita."

"And I doubt that matters from Magdalena's and Ignacio's perspectives."

Diego shrugged his shoulders. "I will do my best to keep my distance from the girl, in that case."

"I do think it would be for the best. By the way, did you have a chance to see the result of the auditions for the Easter play?"

"No. Did we get any part?"

"Oh, yes! I play Andrew."

"Congratulations! You will be a great apostle."

"And you… Well… I hope you look good half-naked…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you, my friend, play the main character."

"Jesus?"

Emmanuel nodded with a chuckle. "And I give you two chances to guess who plays Judas."

"Gaël?"

"Try again!"

Diego did think hard this time, and his face lit up as soon as an answer presented itself. "João! He'll make a great Judas."

"Yes… He does have what one might consider as "resting Judas face", which makes me wonder what the professor saw in De Soto to offer him the part."

"De Soto? Really?"

"Perhaps you'll have the chance to settle that issue about Magdalena we were discussing earlier."

"Hopefully not by means of a duel. I am so not ready for one…"

They chuckled as Diego said that, soon entering their class.

With rehearsals for the Passion play starting in early February, Diego once more found himself in Ignacio's company rather often, which did give him the opportunity to clear the air with the older man. For a few weeks, things even returned to normal between the two, as De Soto started treating him more amiably.

Then, the entire university gathered to watch the play at Easter.

De Soto could trace back his hatred for Diego to that exact moment. It was, at least, how it had started: with the shattering of any chance he had had at one day marrying Magdalena.

Aged 17, the blue-eyed, black-haired Magdalena had liked the Californian since she had first seen him when her father introduced him to her during one of the dinner parties he organized and to which he only invited the best students in the university. For a while, though, as she wasted no opportunity to flirt with the Californian, she was also glad to receive the attention of other men, such as Ignacio, whom she was certain to have wrapped around her finger. Yet from the moment she saw Diego in that play, Magdalena fell madly in love with him and stopped accepting any other man's company as she only sought the tall caballero's.

As for the young De la Vega, he never treated her any differently, and certainly gave her no hope. In fact, he did his best to stay away from her, especially considering that the young woman didn't seem to simply accept that he was not interested, even after he explained to her that he was already engaged. In fact, she did all she could to seduce him, calling at him while at university, demanding his company when going shopping, and so on, actions that only achieved to cause De Soto's disdain for his younger colleague to grow even stronger, his only consolation a job he had been offered just a month before he was due to graduate, and that could mean the start of a truly glorious career for him.

ZZZ

One day, not long before the end of the school year, as he hurried to exit the class where he had one of his final exams, Ignacio bumped into Diego and Emmanuel, dropping his papers.

"Sorry, Ignacio! I'll help you!" the Californian said, bending to gather the papers.

"I don't need your help, De la Vega!" the older man tried to stop him, hurrying to take back his sheets and books, then standing up to leave.

"There's one more!" the younger man tried to stop him when the older man was already some ten feet away, as he collected a sheet from the ground and glanced at it.

Unluckily for Ignacio, his professor, noticing the baffled look on Diego's face, curiously neared him to have a look, as well.

De Soto returned in a few moments, hurrying to take the paper, but the professor was faster.

"How do you have these? How do you have all the subjects I considered for the exam?" the man asked.

What followed was an inquiry and a search of Ignacio's room, where copies of the keys to all professor's offices were found in the young man's desk.

Just before graduating with honors, Ignacio was, thus, expelled from the University of Madrid and left without either a diploma or a job offer.

He made his way out in shame, through rows of students looking spitefully at him. Diego and his best friend, Emmanuel, were also there, though they were not watching him in disdain, but in pity.

"I will not forgive you for this, De la Vega!" Ignacio uttered as he passed by them.

"It is you who cheated," Emmanuel replied.

"I won't forget you, either, Dos Santos!" the older man replied instead.

Dos Santos was preparing to answer when his friend stopped him. "Let him be, Emmanuel. He's upset." Diego said, and De Soto hated him a little more for those words.