Melody's Romance Chapter

Somewhere in La Paz there lived a village of peasants. In this village there lived two neighbors, the Gonzales and Flores families. The Gonzales’ had a boy, Amancio, who was six. The Flores’ had a boy, Felipe, who was seven and a girl, Rosita, who was five. Since the two boys were fairly close in age, they spent time together. They imagined going on quests, killing evil giants, and rescuing beautiful damsels. Amancio did not know that he would do such knightly acts when he grew up.
When Felipe was nine, he got sick. After suffering of months, he died. Needless to say, this put the whole family in shock. Since the Gonzales and Flores families were such good friends, the Gonzales’ helped them with the grief. Through this experience, Amancio took over a lot of the older brother duties for Rosita. They got to know each other better and became the best of friends. They spent time together and shared many fond memories. He made sure that nothing happened to her and took her personal safety in his care.
As Rosita grew in age, she also grew in beauty. Soon other boys her age started to take notice of her. Amancio took the matter into his own hands by scaring the other boys off. After scaring off numerous boys, Amancio took a step back and looked at Rosita. He could see that the girl that was his best friend was becoming a beautiful woman. About this time, life again got tough for the Flores’ as the father lost his job. They were struggling with finances and whether the family could be supported. A solution then seemed to arise. Amancio offered to go on a quest for land for the family. Secretly, he longed to come back and marry Rosita when he had the resources to provide for her. He did not tell anyone this, though, because he was a considerate man. He wished not to give her family false hope without knowing that he could provide for her. So Amancio said goodbye to his family and Rosita and headed off on his quest.
A couple months after Amancio left, a man named Bruno came along. He found out about Rosita’s situation and asked the family for Rosita’s hand in marriage. Since the family had no idea about Amancio’s love for Rosita and wanted Rosita to be well taken care of, they agreed. Rosita was wary about marrying this man, since she did not know him enough to love him, but she did not have any say in the matter. Rosita was right to be wary for this man for he was an evil and vile man. He went around the countryside marrying pretty woman and stealing what little possessions their families had.
A week before the marriage date, Amancio returned. He had been successful on his quest and had acquired land and an offer to be a squire to a wealthy man. This man had seen his persistence and heard Amancio tell him about his love for Rosita. This convinced the wealthy man that even though Amancio was not of noble birth, he had the qualities of a knight. On hearing about the wedding, Amancio was devastated. The love of his life was pledged to marry a man in a week’s time. Being the noble man that he was, he put aside his feelings and gave them his best wishes.
The next day, Amancio was out in the city when he overheard two men talking. They were talking about Rosita’s betrothed. They talked about his infidelity and how he was not of noble birth. They said that all his riches were gained from others’ loss. Not wanting to base his actions off of gossip, he checked around. After hearing the same story from multiple people, he decided it was time for action. First, he went to Rosita’s father and told him the truth about Bruno. Rosita’s father then suggested a plan. Amancio laughed and heartily agreed.
Right outside of La Paz there were windmills. Amancio asked to talk to Bruno and they walked towards the windmills. Amancio confronted Bruno and told him that he knew all about what he had done. Bruno then assaulted Amancio. Amancio, being prepared, pulled out his sword. The two proceeded to fight, getting closer and closer to the windmills. The wind started to blow and the arms of the windmills began to move. Amancio dashed behind a windmill and Bruno lunged at him without thinking. The windmill picked Bruno up as he clung onto his sword. It carried him around and around until Bruno passed out. Amancio carried Bruno back to the village and turned him into the appropriate authorities. Rosita, hearing on what had happened, ran to Amancio’s house. She found Amancio and hugged him tightly. “Amancio, you’ve saved my life!” Rosita whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.
Amancio asked Rosita’s father for her hand in marriage and he joyfully agreed. Amancio and Rosita got married and moved on the land that Amancio acquired. Amancio accepted the offer to become a squire to the wealthy man. He earned enough wealth to provide for Rosita, although her greatest joy was being married to him.