I'VE BEEN THINKING, YOU SHOULD HAVE A HUSBAND
Disclaimer - I don't own the rights, Zorro Production Inc does - I just like to play with the characters.
Plot - Zorro's thoughts on why Victoria should have a husband, preferably Diego.
I just had to do a vignette story for Broken Heart, Broken Mask to explain why Zorro told Victoria that she should marry Diego.
Zorro stood in the shadows waiting for Victoria to take her nightly stroll around the de la Vega garden; a walk that she had started a week after she regained consciousness. He had struggled for weeks over his guilt that she had taken a bullet from him; a bullet that would have killed him. His death would have resulted more from his own arrogance than of the cold hard metal piercing his flesh.
He had been arrogant in his belief that nothing and no one could touch him; he should have ensured that Bishop had left the pueblo before turning his back on the man and not just assume that he had gone of his own accord. He had become so accustomed to bandits and thieves not fighting back that it simply hadn't occurred to him, until it was too late, that Bishop would turn around and shoot him.
That arrogance had almost cost him the life of the woman he loved.
It was when Victoria had recovered from the shooting that he decided to end the romance between Zorro and herself; a romance that should never have started in the first place. He should never have flirted with her and he should never have encouraged her to believe that she had a future with Zorro, which in hindsight was not only harming her reputation but it was also becoming highly improbably that he would ever be able to fulfill that promise.
What he should have done was to be the gentleman that his father had raised him to be and declare his intentions right from the beginning instead of hiding behind a black mask; a mask that had trapped them both as time went on. If he had courted Victoria when he first arrived home nineteen months ago, they might have been engaged to marry by now.
Perhaps it was time to change all that. Perhaps he could start over, start afresh and this time he would do it right. But in order to do that, Zorro had to stop his flirtation with Victoria to allow Diego de la Vega to step forward. Perhaps he could give his other self a helping hand and get Victoria to see him as a potential suitor.
His thoughts were interrupted by movement off to the right and he watched with an aching heart as the woman he loved twirled gracefully around the garden; he knew what he had to do.
Victoria jumped slightly when she saw him standing in the shadows, "Senor Zorro." she whispered.
He glanced to the right before he moved closer to her, "You look lovelier than ever." he said quietly as he raised his hand to her face.
She smiled, "Thank you, I am feeling much better."
He gazed at her, wishing he didn't have to break her heart but it was for the best, "I've been thinking. You should have a husband. Someone like Diego, perhaps." He couldn't help but see her disappointed look and he knew it was going to be hard to convince her of Diego's suitability.
"Like Diego? I thought...I thought we shared certain feelings?" she said.
"We do, more than you'll ever know." he replied as he gazed into her eyes before she unexpectedly kissed him. Although it was their first kiss, he knew that it had to be their last; he simply couldn't allow it to go any further.
"Diego!" Don Alejandro called out.
They pulled apart, neither wanting to be caught in such a compromising embrace.
"I must go. I must go." he whispered hoarsely, cursing his father's interruption. As he left the garden, he feared that he would never get another opportunity to break off the romance between Zorro and Victoria and his resolve to do so, slowly began to crumble.
The End
I hope you like this one :)