Author's notes: This story takes part on the challenge "A Death in the Pueblo", which should include: someone is dead or presumed dead; the alcalde must be locked in jail; Zorro must use his whip; mention of Albondiga's soup; a laced handkerchief.

It is a continuation from my other story taking part in the first challenge: "Too much wine".

There are a few original characters introduced on the first part. So, you should read PART 1 of "A New Swordsman in Los Angeles" first, or you won't have a clue what's going on. ;)

WARNING: again, a few injuries and medical treatments. Nothing too alarming, but skip those if you don't like blood and pain (but that was real life for a surgeon at a time without painkillers and proper anaesthetics).

DISCLAIMER: this story is based on the NWZ series. It is a non-profit project intent for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights on the characters belong to Zorro Productions Inc. except the original characters created by me (the Blasco family, Karl Jager, and the Cossack brothers, among others).

Special thanks to my beta readers, Marla and Sandrine, for all their hard work.

Enjoy, and please review, even if you read this story years after it was first published. I love getting reviews, and feedback is always useful. Thank you.

A New Swordsman in Los Angeles – PART 2

Chapter 12 – Something to celebrate

Don Alejandro kept a suspicious eye on his son the rest of the evening. Diego looked so happy and radiant all of a sudden, in such a contrast with his behaviour during the past few days when he acted like a mad man, refusing contact with anybody, neglecting himself, lost in his inner world with an empty look in his eyes. There was no doubt about it: Diego and Cristina were in love. Their body language gave it away, both transfixed with each other, ignoring the rest of the world. After all the time waiting for Diego to find a suitable woman, he was delighted to see this happening. But, that wasn't the attitude he'd observed at the start of the evening, when they looked polite to each other but completely uninterested. Don Alejandro's initial impression had been that they actually disliked each other. Something happened during dinner to allow such transformation, but he had missed it completely and it was bothering him no end. He assumed that Diego's odd behaviour was the result of being secretly in love, while pretending that he wasn't, but he suspected there was something else as well.

Don Alejandro looked at the couple disappearing into the twilight in the garden. He sighed and smiled shaking his head, putting aside the suspicions and accepting the facts: his son was finally in love. Doña María Luisa joined him at the back door, also smiling.

"Alejandro, it looks like we may become family quite soon."

"Did you notice too?" he said, laughing, turning to face her. "Of course, you did. You are a woman. You ladies always notice this kind of thing."

"To be honest, Alejandro, I thought they didn't like each other. I am very surprised."

"So did I! Something happened during dinner, but I can't figure out what. It is bothering me. They were talking about Diego and his studies at university, and then—"

"What was that? What is bothering you?" Don Francisco said, approaching them with three glasses of expensive wine.

"We are talking about Diego and Cristina," Doña María Luisa said. "Haven't you noticed?"

"Noticed what?" he asked, handing out the glasses, still oblivious.

"Them!" Don Alejandro said. "They look so happy all of a sudden. They are in love!"

"Are they? Oh, that's wonderful. We will become family then. That deserves a toast!" he said raising his glass, a little bit unsteady. It was his fourth glass, and he was becoming a bit tipsy. "To love!" Don Francisco shouted, over-enthusiastically.

"To family," Doña María Luisa said, raising her glass, touching lightly her husband's.

"To grandchildren!" Don Alejandro said, raising his, clinking the other two.

They all laughed happily at the prospect.

ZZZ

"So, the Academia di Belle Arti di Firenze… just like Leonardo?" Diego said shortly after they stepped into the garden, away from the others.

"How did you know? How did you know I am the Italian?"

Cristina looked back over her shoulder. Don Alejandro was looking at them, smiling, so she continued strolling towards the darkest part of the garden, restraining herself from running to confront Diego.

"It was the cat. He scratched your arm," he said smiling, nodding at it. She looked at her arm and blinked in surprise. She had forgotten about it.

"Really?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that, if I hadn't worn this short sleeve dress tonight, we wouldn't have found out?" She thanked her mother for this, because she hated the dress, but Doña María Luisa insisted it was perfect for her this evening. "Wow."

"I guess so. Before tonight I didn't suspect it was you, at all. How could I?" He stopped to face her, staring at her. "And how did you know I am Zorro? I thought I played the geek to perfection."

"I didn't suspect it, either. Not before tonight, not before you asked if I could speak Italian, and then you looked at me…well… the way you did… How can you be Zorro! It is unbelievable! Amazing!" she squeaked, grabbing his arm excited like a kid, jumping up and down.

"I am amazed that you can fight so well with a sword. You beat me! You even slapped my arse! Oh, sorry, I mean, my rear end…Where did you learn to fence like that?" he asked, very excited himself, bursting with admiration.

"I did, didn't I? I even Z'ed you!" she said, laughing wholeheartedly. "You were so angry about that, you lost the plot completely."

"Yes, I did. I am so sorry. I could have killed you then. I was so angry." He flushed, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Well, I am glad you didn't. But there is no need to apologize. It was my fault. I have a gift for making people angry. I can't help it. I should have known better. Will you forgive me?" she asked, not waiting for a reply. "And I should thank you, anyway. You saved my life."

"Oh, no, you had that maggot right where you wanted."

They both burst out laughing, remembering her cocky attitude. They chuckled for a while, and then they fell silent, both wondering how to take the next step.

"You are everything I want. You are the one I've been waiting for all my life," Cristina whispered, looking down to the ground, embarrassed to open her heart to him.

"Thank you. But, I am sorry, I cannot say the same."

She looked up at him again, with deep disappointment in her eyes.

"I didn't even imagine a woman like you could actually exist, not in my wildest dreams. I am… ecstatic," he said, coming closer to her. Their mutual attraction pulled again irresistibly, and they shared a long, passionate kiss. When they recovered their senses, parting their lips slowly, Diego hugged her tightly, rubbing his chin on her left temple.

"I am so glad you are Leonardo—you cannot imagine how much. I thought I was going crazy. The last week was hell on Earth. I thought I was in love with a man, and I could not understand how that was possible."

"Well, discovering that Zorro was homosexual was kind of disappointing too," she said, giggling. "It was unsettling to think the man I loved was interested in the nutty Italian. Besides, not knowing who was behind the mask was driving me crazy too."

"I am never going to let you go," he said, holding her even tighter, rocking her from side to side.

"Oh, no, of course you are. I can't breathe!" she said with a muffled voice, her face buried in his chest. Not that she did mind too much to die like that. She felt so secure in his arms—thrilled, but extremely calmed at the same time. In peace. At home. She remembered what her mother told her, a long time ago: "the heart knows what the heart wants." She had never understood what she meant, until now.

"Oh, sorry, sorry," he said, relaxing his tight embrace. He looked at her beautiful face, his heart racing with anticipation, joy and desire. What were the odds to find someone like her? Someone so attractive, intelligent, interesting… And, above all, someone who could fully understand his predicament. Someone who knew what it was to live a double life. Someone like him, who could keep a secret for years.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to secure his future with this exceptional woman, so he stepped back, grabbed her hands, and fell on his left knee.

"Querida señorita, I fell inappropriately in love with Leonardo over the last week," he said, winking with a cheeky smile, "and, I think I will hopelessly fall in love with his alter-ego pretty soon, as well… Will you consider to marry me, please?"

"What?" she asked, so surprised she could not believe it. Only a couple of hours ago she thought Diego was an unbearable jerk, and now he was asking her to marry him. It didn't make sense—or did it?

Surprised with his own rash action, he repeated the question while rubbing her hands gently with his thumbs.

"Will you marry me?"

In a matter of seconds, a handful of thoughts squeezed into Diego's mind. He thought briefly about Victoria, but she was lost to him. He also thought about Zafira, and it hurt. He didn't want to add another name to the list of women he had ever loved; women whom, in the end, married someone else. He could not bear the thought of losing Cristina as well, as he had lost the other women in his life. Besides, she was under pressure to get married, and so was he. Time was running out before his father would try to arrange his son's marriage to some random lady, in order to provide De la Vega's offspring. From a rational point of view, he knew it might be unwise to rush into marriage, hardly knowing the object of his desire, but his heart was lonely, and in Cristina he recognized a kindred spirit. Besides, being already on his knees, it was too late to back off, past the time to be rational, so he pressed on enthusiastically.

"We will keep each other's secret. It will be perfect; nobody will know what we are up to."

Cristina hesitated for a moment until she flashed a brilliant, broad grin. She could not believe her luck. Not only had she finally found the one —he was proposing on the spot.

"Yes! Yes, I will marry you, Diego. It will be so much fun!"

Diego stood up and kissed her again.

Oh, yes, I will marry you, she thought, her legs weakened, supported by his strong arms around her. Of course I will.

ZZZ

Diego and Cristina came back to the house holding hands. Don Alejandro and the Blascos were still talking about them, by the back door.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?" Don Alejandro said when the couple were close enough to hear him. They smiled at him.

"Hello, everyone. We have an announcement to make," Diego said, holding Cristina's hand, rocking it gently to and fro. "But first, I have to ask you something, Don Francisco."

"I think we all know what that may be… but, go ahead," he said, chuckling.

"I would like to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage," Diego said, flushing a bit, self-conscious with everybody looking at him.

"You are holding it already, so I don't see why not!" Don Francisco said, laughing. He shook Diego's free right hand lively, pulling him closer to hug him, and patted his back energetically. Diego let go of Cristina's hand, glad that his back wound was healed. "Congratulations… Son."

Doña María Luisa hugged Cristina, and kissed her cheeks. "I am so happy for you, dear. I didn't know you liked Diego."

"Yes," she said, looking at him, winking. "It was a secret."

"Let's celebrate! I'll get more wine," Don Francisco said, rushing unsteadily towards the cellar.

"Congratulations Diego!" Don Alejandro said, also hugging him. "I am so happy. I thought I would die without the joy of grandchildren. You certainly took your time to choose The One."

"What can I say? She is so special, she is one of a kind," Diego said, also winking back at Cristina.

Doña María Luisa and Don Alejandro also hugged and congratulated their soon to be son and daughter in law. Coming back with another bottle of expensive Spanish wine and two clean glasses, Don Francisco enthusiastically filled them up to the rim, refilling also the other three.

"To the happy couple," he toasted, lifting his glass again. "Let them be blessed with many years of happiness."

"And children," Don Alejandro added.

They all raised their glasses, clinking happily, and drank the wine. All except Diego, who was looking at his glass, hesitating. He didn't usually drink wine, and the last time he drank some it was the Porto wine that Felipe gave him to numb the pain when he removed the musket ball off his chest. Wincing in disgust, he swallowed the whole glass at once. After all —as Don Francisco was just saying to Doña María Luisa when she complained he had too much to drink for the night— it didn't happen every day that they had to celebrate Cristina and Diego's engagement.

ZZZ

Diego talked to Padre Benítez to arrange the wedding day, which would be in two months. That would provide enough time for the official bans to be displayed, and for the relatives and friends in California and Mexico to travel to Los Angeles for the wedding. Don Alejandro and Don Francisco wanted to invite some of their relatives from Spain, but it would take many weeks for the invitations to get there, and more than three months for the guests to arrive in California afterwards. Or even much longer than that depending on the route they would chose to travel.

Diego didn't want to wait so long to marry Cristina because he feared she could change her mind, but there was another important reason for the wedding to go ahead as soon as possible: to put closure to his relationship with Victoria. He tried to convince himself he didn't love her anymore but, there were moments when he imagined they might somehow have a chance to be together, though this was impossible, since she was already married to another man.

ZZZ

Over the next few weeks Cristina and Diego got to know each other a bit better. The couple enjoyed having long conversations about any topic, and words seemed to flow very easily between them. They would often go for a ride together in the long, late spring evenings, with some breaks for a picnic and the chance of a kiss. Continuing the charade of the perfect lady, she was still using the sidesaddle. If they had been riding in Spain instead, and even if she was going out with her fiancée and the wedding date was already set, she would not have been allowed to go out without a chaperone. At least California was a new world, and the rules were a little bit more relaxed than in the Old Continent.

Stupid social rules, she thought in one of those occasions, while riding with Diego.

"You will never be able to imagine how much I hate this saddle," she said when they stopped at a clearing by the stream that had become one of their favourite spots for a break. As any accompanying gentleman would do with a lady, Diego helped her to climb down the sidesaddle.

"Don't worry. Once you are my wife you won't need to ride on the sidesaddle anymore. I am not like your father. I couldn't care less about it. Actually, I think these saddles are quite dangerous, and I would prefer you to ride astride. After all, this is California, not Madrid," he said while spreading the picnic blanket on the grass.

"Wise words, Diego. They are dangerous. But of course, I already had that intention myself. Thank you very much for your permission," she said with a naughty smile.

"Then, you won't need to disguise as the Italian anymore," he added, casually. She stopped smiling.

"Why?"

"Well, you won't need to become a man to go for a ride if you ditch the sidesaddle, and I would prefer that you don't get in trouble like that anymore. It is dangerous. You could get hurt."

He didn't like the defiant look on her face. To avoid a confrontation, he went to the brook to fill up the glasses, but she followed him.

"And, what about you? I don't want to see you hurt, either. Are you going to give up Zorro for me? I don't think so!"

"It is not the same, and you know it," he said, defensively, but he could see her point.

"Why not? You take chances. You take a lot of risks. I don't want to be a widow shortly after marriage," she said with her hands at her hips. "Besides, I love fencing! I need the Italian for that."

"You could practice with me," he said, standing on a wet large stone to reach the running water. He bent down to fill up the glasses.

"Nah… that will be boring. I'll win all the time," she said, teasing him with her Italian man voice. "Not worth it."

"Really?" he said, laughing. "I think you deserve this, Miss Haughty."

He turned around quickly to throw the water in the glasses at her. She screamed, laughing, stepping back to avoid the water, but she tripped on a stone and she landed on her butt. She roared with laughter watching Diego lose his balance with his sudden motion, sliding on the slippery wet stone he was standing on. He landed flat on his back in the shallow water with a big splash, the glasses lost in the current.

"What goes around comes around!" she said in stitches, hardly able to talk. Water dripped down her hair and face, but she was not near as wet as Diego, who sat there in the middle of the stream, soaked. He was laughing too, embarrassed.

"I guess you are right, I deserve this. And, you will always win," he said standing up dripping water, walking carefully back to the bank, trying not to slip again. "I shouldn't have thrown that water at you." He stood in front of her, offering his hand to help her. She took it and pulled up to stand, but half way up Diego let go of her hand and she fell back again on her bottom. "Oh, sorry, slippery wet hand." Without looking back, he walked away towards the blanket, undoing his shirt to hang it to dry.

"You cheeky man…" she said, still laughing. She stood up herself, rubbing her bottom. "Ouch! That hurts."

She followed him back to the picnic area, where she watched him remove his shirt. She was mesmerized by his impressive physique; she never had imagined that quiet, wimpy Diego could be so strong, but after all, he was also Zorro. Looking at him, she gaped like a fish.

Diego hung the wet shirt on a branch, and turned around to find Cristina behind him, water dripping off her hair, with parts of her wet pale blue dress clinging to her bosom, making her even more beautiful and desirable. They came closer, and their mouths searched for each other's urgently. Joining in a passionate kiss, they slowly lowered their bodies on top of the blanket.

"Cristina, I should move away from you now. We should wait for the wedding," Diego said after a while, pulling apart, flushed. He stood up quickly, hoping his excitement would not be too obvious under his wet trousers... but it was. "Think of all the hours you stayed on that sidesaddle. What a waste of time it would have been otherwise."

He winked and she laughed. He was talking about the historical purpose of the sidesaddle: to preserve a lady's virginity, that could otherwise be lost inadvertently riding astride.

"Tell me about it." She sighed. "But, don't go away, come back here. We can still talk. We can control ourselves, can't we?" she said, patting a spot on the blanket close to her.

"Aaaaahhh…. hum.., I don't know if I can… Just wait a second."

He bowed theatrically, turned around and walked to the brook, jumping back in the cold, fresh water where he stayed for a few minutes. Cristina laughed and lay on the blanket waiting for him. When he finally came back he started to wring off his trousers because he didn't dare to remove them like he had done with the shirt, but Cristina insisted.

"You should take off the trousers and hang them to dry with your shirt. Don't worry, after all we are going to be married soon, so I should be used to seeing you in your underwear. Don't be silly."

Diego shrugged his shoulders, removed his trousers and hung them to dry next to his shirt. He came back to the blanket and lay on his back, rolling the edge over his legs to cover himself.

"Happy now?"

"Yes. El Pueblo de Los Angeles cannot afford a Zorro with a nasty cold," she joked.

"Nah… it happened before… They will be all right," he said, and they laughed again. Cristina rolled over on the blanket to lie on her right side, closer to him.

"What happened to you there?" she asked, touching the red scar on Diego's chest, caressing it lightly with her left index finger. "A war wound? It looks fresh."

"Yes, a war wound for Zorro. I was shot in the back, right through the chest. Felipe dug a hole there to remove the musket ball." He gently took Cristina's hand away from the spot and kissed her fingertips. That area was not painful anymore, but he didn't like the weird, numbed sensation he had on the scar. "Do you remember when you first met me, when I had my arm in a sling? I told everybody I fell off my horse and broke my collar bone, but I had actually been shot. If Felipe had not been taking care of me I would have died."

"Oh, yes, I thought you were such an idiot to injure yourself like that, falling off Esperanza. Are you all right now?"

He nodded. She pulled the other edge of the blanket over her shoulders and accommodated her head on his chest, hugging him like a purring cat pawing its comfy pillow. Diego smiled welcoming the close contact, and ran his fingers slowly through her hair, playing with it. It was heaven just to lie down there together, but he had to make a great effort not to go any further, to avoid any more… excitement.

"Yes. That's the general idea, to look like a fool most of the time," he said, staring into space while he continued to twist Cristina's shiny dark hair, lost in thought remembering some of the times he had to lie and play the fool. "And sometimes, I don't have to pretend, I can be an idiot all by myself, like before, in the river."

She giggled remembering his facial expression while he sat in the water.

"When are you going to tell your father that you are Zorro?" she asked after a while. "I don't know how you have been able to keep that secret from him for so long. He would be so proud of you, rather than being ashamed that you are such a wimp".

"I know he would, and that is part of the problem. You see, he would find it hard not to boast about it, and he may give it away unintentionally with that quick tongue of his, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. And, if I don't tell him, if I ever get caught, he can honestly say he didn't know it was me." Diego sighed. "No, it is better to keep him disappointed about me, it suits the situation better. Besides, I have been lying to him for so long, I don't even know how to tell him the truth now. He would be very cross to begin with, and then he would blame himself for all the doubts and all the harsh words he has used over the years. I don't know how to do it."

They lay on the blanket chatting and enjoying each other's company for quite a while before they returned to the hacienda. Cristina especially liked the way his deep voice vibrated in his chest, and the sound of his powerful heartbeats. She rejoiced at the thought that it would not be long before she could enjoy this —and much more— every night.

ZZZZZ