Andres left early the next morning and Father needed me to work on the fields. The sun beat hard on our bare backs, as we guided the oxen plowing the fields. I hadn’t seen Father, but just assumed he was working somewhere else for he had a lot of work to do.

After a few hours of hard work, Mother sent for me; I had a visitor. I expected it to be Andres, but was mistaken.

“Un mensaje de la familia real,” The messenger said, sitting high on his Jennet horse. He handed me a small paper rolled up and tied with a green ribbon. He galloped away. I undid the ribbon and read the paper.

A message from Andres? He wanted me to go to el Palacio, what an honor that was! I couldn’t believe me eyes, but I didn’t take too much time taking it in.

“Mamá! I’ll be back later!” She nodded not getting distracted from her cooking, and I ran off, happy that I was invited to enter el Palacio. Of course, seeing Andres was part of my joy, but little did I know that this would lead to something greater than I had imagined.