Offending a Fox
A/N: My usual disclaimers: all copyrights go to those who rightfully own them.
Ok, I may not like the second season of Zorro as much as the first, but An Affair of Honor is one of my favorite episodes. Part of me wishes though that Avila could've had his own arc because he is pretty fascinating; come on, this is a guy who pits people in duels against himself for money. All the fun that can be had but alas, we just got the one (which in of itself is pretty good).
I changed a few things in this so a heads up but I tried to stick to the episode as much as possible. There were a couple of things that didn't make sense such as how did Avila and Pineda know who Alejandro was and how did Zorro get to the duel before Reyes and Garcia did (even though they went to free him).
With all that said, enjoy and destroy!
A Thrown Gauntlet
Señor Avila held his rapier up to the challenger. Pineda dropped his handkerchief, the signal to start. Avila lunged at the challenger. The challenger parried and darted back.
And so began their dance.
Diego's sharp ears picked up the sound of metal on metal; rapiers. Somebody was fighting a duel. Turning, he saw Don José Madrileño fighting a newcomer, someone with dark hair streaked with gray and bright brown eyes.
Their boots tapped on the dirt. The rapiers clanged against each other. Everyone watched, their breath in their throats. The newcomer was very good, Diego thought as he studied the man's footwork and nimble movements.
"Wonder what's going on?" Esperanza asked, keeping her arm looped around his.
"Let's go find out." Diego said, looking through the crowd. Sure enough, he sees Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes standing by a carriage. He and Esperanza walk towards them.
The two men were watching the duel with wide eyes. Diego and Esperanza got close to them. Garcia didn't notice them slipping in but Reyes did, quickly taking off his hat and giving a respectful smile to Esperanza.
"This fellow's pretty good, isn't he, sergeant?" Diego asked.
"Of course he's good." Garcia said before realizing who had addressed them. "¡Don Diego! ¡Señorita Montoya! ¡Buenos días!" Garcia said, quickly taking off his hat. He elbowed Reyes in the side. "Have you forgotten, baboso?"
"What, sargento?" Reyes innocently asked.
"That it's customary to take off your hat in the presence of a lady!" Garcia gripped.
"My hat is already off, sargento." Reyes said, pointing to the hat in his hands.
"Which is against regulation!" Garcia said.
"I saw the two of them coming before you did." Reyes complained, pointing to Esperanza and Diego. "Besides, aren't you against regulation yourself by not having your hat on?"
Diego smiled as Esperanza giggled.
Garcia groaned. "You're treading on thin ice, Corporal." He gave a firm look at the man.
"Si, sargento." Reyes said, a sad look crossing his face.
There was a final clash and a clang. Everyone looked to see the newcomer holding his rapier up to Don José's chest. "I yield!" Don José said, holding his hands up in the customary stance of surrender. Everyone applauded. The men took off their dueling gloves and put their rapiers on a table covered with rapiers and gloves. The newcomer patted Don José on the back, silently congratulating him on a job well done. Don José bowed, the customary acceptance.
The man walked around, studying everyone around him. "Come, gentlemen! Who else wishes to duel me?" He asked. "Don't be alarmed! I won't hurt you! It's merely a test of skill!"
"I can only think of one swordsman who can defeat Señor Avila there." Garcia said.
"You mean our friend, the fox?" Esperanza asked, a grin crossing her face.
"I doubt Zorro himself would be able to take him on and survive." Garcia said. "I've fought the Fox many times…"
"…and lost." Reyes said.
Garcia gave a firm look to Reyes. "Of course, baboso! If anyone's defeated Zorro, they haven't lived to tell the tale! That is probably why I'm still alive."
Time to have a little fun. Diego thought with a smirk as he looked at Garcia. "How about you take him on?" He said, tilting his head at Avila. "Seeing as you're the expert among us."
Garcia's eyes became as big as saucers. "I'm flattered, Don Diego! But I'm not that good." Garcia said, shaking his head. "Besides, I don't have a peso to my name…"
Reyes tucked his hand into his pocket and took out a small coin. "I have a peso!"
Garcia slapped at his hand. "Not now, stupid! When you have money, I don't need it! Yet when I do need money, you don't have it! When I want your money, I ask for it, don't I?"
"Si, sargento…even though you've never paid me back." Reyes said.
After a few moments, Avila walks over to them, a smile on his face. "How about you, señor?" Avila asks Diego. "I see you don't have any scars, so I must assume you're an expert with the sword."
Diego smiled, preparing his excuse. "Perhaps the reason I don't have any scars is because I don't duel."
"It's true. Don Diego is the clumsiest swordsman in all of California. But he's an expert in other matters." Garcia explained before his eyes went blank. "Like…books…and music…and fine wine…"
"Ah yes, I have heard of you." Avila said, looking over Diego with a look of disdain. It reminded him of the looks Father used to give him before he revealed his knowledge of Zorro's identity. "Shame though, the señoritas love a man who knows his way with a rapier." Avila looked over Esperanza. "Trust me on this, Don Diego."
Diego felt the familiar bile rising in his throat.
Esperanza tightened her grip on his arm. It was to remind him to keep a cool head. "Diego has never needed to prove anything to me." She said, giving Avila a firm look. "And he'll never need to, either."
"You're lucky." Avila said, giving a courteous bow. "Un placer conocerte, mi bella señorita." He raised Esperanza's hand to his lips. "And I mean that in the most respectful terms." Avila said, turning around and leaving.
Diego eyed Avila suspiciously, unsure if Avila had eyes on his fiancée.
"Don't worry about him wooing me away, Diego. I'm yours, remember?" Esperanza said, brushing down the shoulders of his soft pink jacket.
Diego smiled. "I have no intention of letting you go." He said, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Esperanza!" Tia Marcella called out from the well. Her brown rebozo waved along with her tiny arm. "Can I see you for a minute?"
"I'll be right there!" Esperanza said before turning to Diego. "You don't mind if I go?"
"I'll only mind if you forget to go riding with me later tonight." Diego teased, kissing Esperanza. "See you in a little bit."
"See you in a bit. It was good seeing you, sargento, corporal." Esperanza said before she left. Garcia and Reyes waved at her. The Fox's curiosity was piqued. He decided to find out more about Avila. Newcomers have never fared well in Los Angeles. "How long has Señor Avila been in Los Angeles?" Diego asked as they walked to the posada.
"A couple of days." Garcia said.
"What can you tell me about him?" Diego asked.
"Not much, except that he fights duels. All of them have been friendly." Garcia said. "But it's only a matter of time until he offends the wrong person. I pity the poor fool who crosses swords with him in a real duel though."
Interesting… "Maybe we should continue this discussion over refreshments?" Diego suggested.
Garcia's eyes went wide in delight. "I was about to suggest that, Don Diego! Except…this time, you'll be my guest." He turned to Reyes, holding out his hand expectantly. "Now you can lend me that peso, Corporal Reyes.
"How did we do?" Avila asked Pineda, wiping his face with a towel. Although it didn't seem like much, only five men today were willing to dole out money for the privilege of dueling him. Even then, they gave pocket change. Ah…he longed for the days in Madrid when he was known as champion with the blade! Before he crossed that one fool…
"Twenty pesos." Pineda said, holding up Avila's blue coat.
Avila grimaced, putting down his towel and allowing Pineda to help him with his jacket. "That's enough for one more night at the inn. At this rate, we'll never reach San Juan." He said. Los Angeles was a sleepy pueblo, no place for a champion like him! It'll never become as large as Madrid! "We must get a large sum of money quickly."
A gleam crossed Pineda's face as he packed up the rapiers and gloves. "I saw you were talking to Diego de la Vega just now."
"And?" Avila asked.
"Don't you know his father is the richest man in this part of California?" Pineda asked.
"Provoke him into a duel?" Avila asked. "I doubt it. He's too much of a weakling to defend the family honor."
"Why not? You've done it before. Papa de la Vega will quietly settles the whole thing with a handsome sum…"
Avila smiled, finally understanding where his friend was going. He glanced at the young woman who had accompanied de la Vega. She was talking to an older woman by the well. De la Vega was giving him jealous glances when he made that quip about fencing and by also kissing the lady's hand.
He knew how he can get de la Vega's attention…
"Would you like to have lunch with me today at the posada?" Tía Marcella asked Esperanza.
"That sounds wonderful, actually." Esperanza said. They walked into the inn, past a disheartened Corporal Reyes. Garcia must've gotten the last peso from him after all. She felt a little sorry for him. "I can pay for Corporal Reyes' lunch, Tía Marcella. That is if you don't mind if he has lunch with us." Esperanza said.
"That's a wonderful idea, Esperanza." Tia Marcella said. "That is if the good corporal doesn't mind."
His eyes lit up. "It's never too much trouble, Señora Marcella! And muchos gracias, Señorita Montoya."
"De nada." Esperanza said with a smile.
They entered the inn. It was loud due to the lunchtime crowd. A guitar softly played from the corner. The smells of tamales, carne con chiles and enchiladas filled the air, making Esperanza's stomach rumble. A large fire in the fireplace burned to ward off the early November chill.
Papa was sitting with Don Nacho, Don Alfredo and Don Cornelio at their usual table. They were playing their traditional round of botifarra.
Diego and Garcia were sitting at another table, enjoying a bottle of wine and possibly sharing information about Avila.
She really hoped that the newcomer was just passing through. After the scare with Basilio last week, she prayed that there would be a lull until the Fox was needed again.
The only table left had two chairs. "I'll get the third." Esperanza said, walking over to Papa's table. "Hello Papa, is it all right if I take the extra chair?" She asked, pointing to the spare.
"Go ahead, mi chiquita." Papa said with a smile, looking up from his cards.
Esperanza picked up the empty chair and prepared to walk back to the corner table where Reyes and Tía Marcella are talking.
Avila was watching from his corner as the young woman walked back, carrying the third chair. Perfect…
Timing his steps, he stepped in front of her. Her big green eyes looked up at him in surprise and she almost dropped the chair. "Excuse me, Señor Avila! I didn't see you."
"Forgive me, señorita. You make it hard for a man to watch where he's going." He said, taking the chair and setting it down. A flush crossed her pale freckled cheeks. "Will you like to join me for lunch?"
"I appreciate the offer, Señor Avila, but I'm having lunch with some friends. Maybe some other time." She said, stepping aside.
"The old woman and the shrimp soldier, then." He grabbed the meaty part of her right arm. She gasped. "They can wait…we'll have a private lunch in my room. Just you and me…" He said, pulling her close to him. He brushed her hair out of her face. It smelled of rosewater and those white flowers that grew everywhere. "I'll thread roses through your hair and tonight…" he said, tracing her spine.
The young woman looked horrified at his implications. Of course he had no intention of forcing her to do anything. Just the man who has cow eyes for her. "It's improper!" She hissed.
"I'm not the one talking with a man she isn't married to. That makes you a coqueta, doesn't it?" Avila asked.
"Please let me go." The woman begged, pulling her arm away. Avila held onto her sleeve tightly.
Rrrrrip! The sound of tearing fabric cut through the room. Everyone went silent.
Diego looked up at where the sound came from. He saw a humiliated Esperanza holding up the right shoulder of her torn white blouse to keep it from falling over. Avila gripped the torn sleeve.
Not Esperanza…
Diego got up and headed over, feeling his anger burn. Father was already crossing the room, taking off his black jacket.
"Are you hurt, chiquita?!" Father asked, draping the jacket over her shoulders to preserve her modesty.
"I'm fine." Esperanza said, shaking and pulling the jacket close to her. Her words were meant to calm them but Diego could see the fear and mortification in her face.
"Forgive me, señorita. It was an accident." Avila said, bowing and giving her back her sleeve. "I wasn't aware you had so many admirers. And all of them different ages!"
The words were innocent. But the implications weren't.
"You're disturbing the peace, Señor Avila. That's against the law." Garcia said in a firm voice, crossing the room. "Please leave."
Diego grabbed Avila's shoulder and spun him around. "She may not be my wife yet, but she's a member of my family." Diego said, fighting the urge to punch the man. "You offend her, you offend my father and myself.
Señor Avila smiled. "Then you'd defend the honor of both. That is if there's any inclination in you to defend them." He said.
That's it. Diego's temper snapped and he thrust his fist into Avila's face with every inch of flaming passion he had.
The man flew backwards over a nearby table, landing on the hard wood floor.
Avila could taste metal in his mouth as he stared down the angry de la Vega who had punched him. He knew what it was. Rubbing his lips, he felt the familiar warm touch of blood.
He fought the urge to smile as he stood up. Pineda's plan was working and they would receive a handsome payoff.
"No man strikes me without impunity." Avila said, wiping his face. "My second will call on you tonight."
Diego shook, watching as Avila and his assistant headed upstairs, the leather case carrying his rapiers under the assistant's arm.
Oh God…how could he have been so stupid?! Avila was waiting for a moment to corner him! Now he had to defend the honor of both Esperanza and his family.
"Diego?" Esperanza asked as she walked over. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." He said, wrapping one arm over her shoulder and kissing her. "What about you?"
"It's just a torn sleeve. Nothing a thread and needle won't cure." Esperanza said, trying to give him a reassuring smile.
"Looks like we'll be finishing our game later." Father said to his botifarra partners, picking up his hat.
"Don Diego, you can't fight Senor Avila! He'll kill you!" Garcia begged.
But it was too late. Diego thought sadly, rubbing Esperanza's hair. The gauntlet had been thrown down. "If you can find a way out of it, then let me know." Diego said.
A/N: So here we go! Hopefully the next two chapters will be as good.
