Note: This story is a common theme, just my own take on it. It is part of a much larger story that I may post…some day.
Zorro's Mask
Part I – Victoria's Doubt
The thunder of Tornado's hooves passed by the Tavern, but the masked man could spare nothing more than a quick salute to his lady standing on the porch of the tavern. Victoria waved back at him, even though he was gone too quickly to see the gesture. She sighed as his retreating back disappeared from view.
The sun was just beginning to set, casting a romantic glow across the plaza. As the excited crowd dispersed, buzzing about this latest appearance of their hero, Victoria lingered, eyes still glued to the road that Zorro just disappeared down. A line of soldiers raced out of the pueblo behind the outlaw, but she knew they would come back empty handed as they always did.
As she turned to enter the tavern, another sigh escaped her lips. It had been several weeks since Zorro had made an appearance in the pueblo, and the brief glimpse she had just gotten of him reminded her how much she missed her masked man. It was hard, these long separations. On the one hand, she should be happy, because the absence of Zorro meant that the people were happy and secure, not being oppressed and abused by the alcalde. But it also meant that she would not get to see the man she loved. She knew it was a selfish thought and immediately tried to push it away, knowing it was unworthy of her. But she couldn't help the thought from returning over and over again.
As the night wore on, her usual sense of humor was absent from the tavern. She tossed three men out for making rude comments to Maria, her helper at the tavern, and had refused to provide anything stronger than lemonade to another group of men that kept demanding tequila. They were growing a bit more boisterous than she wanted at the moment and she finally told them they could drink the lemonade and be happy or they could leave. After arguing with her for ten minutes, the group had chosen the latter, going off to seek their entertainment elsewhere.
Diego de la Vega had come in for a late dinner, and noticed immediately that Victoria was not herself. As more and more people sensed the mood in the tavern was not as it usually is and slowly drifted out, Diego approached the bar and reached a hand out to touch Victoria on the arm lightly.
"Is everything alright, Victoria?"
Victoria had been aggressively drying glasses and jumped slightly at his touch, causing him to draw back quickly. "What?" she asked abruptly.
Diego tried to give her a reassuring smile, but her narrowed brow plainly showed her annoyance at his interruption. "I asked if you were alright. You seem a bit…out of sorts tonight."
"I'm fine," she said as she went back to her glasses. "I simply have no time for the foolishness of men tonight."
Diego shrugged, trying not to take the comment personally. "Not all men are fools," he said quietly.
Victoria did not respond, but continued with her chore with a vengeance.
Diego watched her carefully for a moment. He hated to see her upset but wasn't sure how to help her, without knowing what the problem was. "I hope that is all…but if there is anything else, you know I am here for you, Victoria." He said it quietly, keeping his voice low, even though most of the guests had already made their way out.
Victoria was about to snap something else at Diego, but when she looked over at him, and saw his concern, she stopped. She realized how rude she had been to her friend and was immediately sorry. She tossed her towel on the bar in frustration. "I apologize, Diego. You are very kind…I'm just…tired is all."
Diego looked around at the near empty room. Only two customers remained and they were on their way out. "Well, then I would say you are in for an early evening."
Victoria looked around, noticing for the first time that her tavern was now devoid of customers. Another sigh escaped. "Si, it seems I am closing early."
Diego watched as she went to retrieve the coins the last customers had left ont heir table. She went to the tavern door and put her closed sign out. As the door shut, she leaned her back against the solid wood and rested her head for a moment before returning to the bar. She gave Diego a tired smile. "Maybe it is good thing the way I feel tonight."
She picked up the towel she had used on the glasses and starting wiping up the bar, placing the dirty cups on a tray. "Diego…do you…think I am a selfish person?" she asked with some hesitation.
"You?" Diego asked, stunned. "Why on earth would I think that? You are one of the most generous people I know."
Victoria shrugged, but continued to wipe down the bar.
"Victoria, you give so much…Padre Benitez, for instance. You help him at the mission every chance you get. And the children, you treat each one as if they are your own. You gather supplies for the Indian camps at every turn." He reached out to gently grab her arm to get her attention. He had to make sure she was listening to him. "These are not the actions of a selfish person, Victoria."
She gave him a small smile in thanks. But her eyes drifted down to the bar. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to Diego about the thoughts running through her mind, but knew she had to talk to someone. And Diego was a good friend after all.
"I think there is one thing I am being selfish about." She took a deep breath, fighting to keep her voice steady and the tears that were so close to falling from escaping. "It's just so hard, Diego. I try to be patient as Zorro has asked, but…it gets a little harder everyday, this waiting."
Diego swallowed nervously. This wasn't the direction he expected the conversation to go in, but since he had obviously asked her what was wrong, he could hardly steer her away from the topic. He waited for her to go on.
"The pueblo has been so quiet lately, it has been weeks since Zorro has been needed. But if the people don't need Zorro, then I don't get the chance to see him." She shook her head in frustration. "I want to see him more…but if I want that, it is almost as if I am wishing bad things for the pueblo. It's just so….complicated."
"Yes," Diego replied softly, "it is."
Over the last few weeks he had tried to show a little bit more of himself to Victoria in an effort to get her to notice him more, rather than the weak-willed and studious 'brother' she thought he was. His progress felt slow, but he was sure it was there. Cautiously, he said, "I don't think it makes you selfish, Victoria. For wanting to be with the man you love."
Victoria looked over at her friend. Diego was so kind, and lately, he had seemed different somehow. He had been at the tavern more often in the last few weeks, helping her with little odd jobs that needed to be done, talking to her when things were slow at the tavern, and offering bits of advice when she asked. She had even wondered, more than once, if Diego couldn't be her masked hero. But each time she thought it, Diego did something very un-Zorro-like and she immediately dismissed the thought.
"Do you think his mission will ever come to an end, Diego?"
Diego had asked himself the same question a thousand times, and still didn't have a good answer for her. He hated to see Victoria so upset, knowing that ultimately, it was because of him, but had no idea how to answer her question without hurting her even more. Finally, he held out his hands and shrugged. "I don't know, Victoria. I would like to think so, but the truth is that we may never know. Not even Zorro can answer that question with a hundred percent certainty." At her crestfallen look, he quickly went on. "But, Victoria, if we all do our part, perhaps the need for Zorro will eventually end."
"Oh, sure," she said with some anger. "If the dons stopped arguing long enough to come together, and the farmers and peasants weren't spending their entire day just trying to survive, perhaps they could carry on the fight for Zorro."
Her tone was mocking, but Diego felt the pain behind it. He wished there was something he could say that would make her feel better about the situation, but in the end, he was at a loss, so he just watched her vent her frustration on the tables she was wiping down with a vengeance.
"Believe me Victoria, if there was a way I could fix this for you, I would," he said so quietly that Victoria wasn't even sure she had heard him.
"I think that the only one who can fix this is Zorro, Diego."
After a few minutes of silence as they stared at each other, Victoria shook her head and came over to pat her friend on the arm. She was startled by the feelings that Diego stirred in her with his kind eyes and penetrating gaze. She swallowed and suppressed a shudder that ran through her. The feeling made her suddenly uncomfortable and she wanted some time to think. "Thank you, Diego, for letting me ramble on, but I will be fine. Like I said, I'm just tired, that's all. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure."
Diego could only nod as he allowed Victoria to lead him to the door. All at once, he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything would be alright, that he, as Zorro, would figure out a way for them to be together, even if his mission was not quite complete yet. But the words died in his throat and all he could force out was a quick "goodnight" before the tavern door closed behind him and he heard the bolt slide into place. For a moment he let his forehead rest against the closed wooden door, his heart going out to the woman on the other side. With a frustrated growl, he pushed away from the door and headed for his horse.
The ride back to the hacienda was a long one for Diego. The guilt he was feeling over Victoria's pain was almost overwhelming. His mind raced with possible solutions to their shared problem, but in the end he kept coming to the same few conclusions. He could effectively end his crusade as Zorro and hope that the people, despite their current hardships, will band together to fight the injustices in and around their pueblo. He could continue his fight as Zorro and try to court Victoria as Diego, though he knew it would take something momentous to get her to transfer her love for her masked hero to her simple friend Diego. And last, he could tell Victoria the truth, hope she forgave him for his ruse of the past few years and that she could love the man beneath the mask as she had once promised. All three options left him with doubts and more than a little fear for not only Victoria's safety, but those of his family as well.
As for the first option, he didn't think his conscious would let him abandon the very people he had been fighting for these last few years, even for Victoria. The second, while appealing, had problems as well. He was not altogether sure he could get Victoria to fall in love with Don Diego while Zorro was still in the picture. And the last option…it would put Victoria in great danger, knowing the identity of Zorro. But he had to admit, she was in great danger as things currently stood as well. He would need more hands if he were to count the times that Victoria has been used to get to Zorro. Whether it was corrupt alcaldes, Spanish Emissaries, or common bandits, they all knew that a way to Zorro was through Victoria. Victoria had been shot once already because of his alter ego, he was not eager for it to happen again. Either way, she meant more to him than life itself, and he would not be able to bear it if something happened to her because of him.
The front gate of the hacienda finally came into view, but Diego felt no better than he did when he left the tavern. He could make arguments for or against any of the options he had come up with, but in the end only one felt right to him. As he got closer to his home, he made up his mind. He pointed his horse, Esperanza, in a different direction, and urged her to move faster. Now that he knew what option he was going to take, he was eager to get on with it, before the doubts crept back in and changed his mind once again.
