Encomienda: Genre Undetermined

"Senor, you are too generous." Alfredo Munoz bowed his appreciation to his commander. "I am not due to leave the legion for another year."

"You have done more than your part, Alfredo," his commander said. "That last battle would have killed more than three times as many as it did had it not been for your spotting the ambush, and that is only the latest example. You deserve some land. You have not seen your lady for quite long now, no?"

"It is true," he admitted. "But what will the natives think when I arrive with the muendo? Have they been informed?'

The colonel shook his head. "All the villages in that area have been divided to be gifted to either soldiers or colonists. They should not be surprised to discover that they are among them."

Inspiration: encomienda: the system, instituted in 1503, under which a Spanish soldier or colonist was granted a tract of land or a village together with its Indian inhabitants.
Story Potential: medium-high.
Notes: Why haven't I plumbed the possibilities of Spain before? Suddenly, this seems like a terrible oversight.