The Legacy
Disclaimer: I do not own NW Zorro. I'm not sure who holds the rights to the show at this time but it certainly isn't me!
Alejandro de la Vega stared at the object in his hands, momentarily blind to the current chaos of the plaza. Zorro had thrust his knife into the don's hands only minutes ago in an unspoken instruction to free the peasant tied to the flogging post before running out to fend off the garrison soldiers. As usual, the masked hero was thoroughly humiliating them without inflicting any true injury beyond a punishing fist to the stomach or jaw. And while Alejandro would normally be cheering him on, right now he was far too distracted; he knew this dagger, had seen it in an old friend's hand a hundred times over the years. The last time he'd seen it, he'd handed it to his own son, utterly confused by the accompanying message. "Edmund left this to you in his will Diego. He said to use it in your struggle. What do you suppose he meant by that?" Now he understood. Diego's affection for Sir Edmund had been clear; therefore, there was only one way that this dagger could have made its way into Zorro's hand.
Harsh words from the melee in front of him brought him out of his thoughts just in time to watch Zorro deliver a punch to the Alcalde's jaw and Alejandro finally put all of the pieces together. It all made sense now. The sudden change in Diego a few days after his return from Madrid, his odd behavior and constant disappearances, even his reluctance to marry…it finally made sense. Looking at Zorro, he finally saw all the things that a loving father should have seen far sooner. The hero's broad shoulders and height were his son's, some of his mannerisms, the speech patterns…and as Zorro turned to look at he and Victoria on the tavern's porch, looking into his eyes were like looking into his beloved Felicidad's. How could he have not seen this before?
Still somewhat dazed, he watched his son bestow his customary kiss on Victoria's hand before he turned and reclaimed the dagger, "Gracias Don Alejandro." As the lancers fumbled with their muskets, Zorro whistled for Toronado and left the plaza at full gallop.
Victoria turned to Alejandro, visibly concerned at his lingering dazed state, "Don Alejandro, are you alright?"
"Sí Victoria, gracias. I must get back to the hacienda." Kissing her cheek, he too left the plaza, though at a far slower pace than his son.
When he arrived at the hacienda, he handed the horse's reins to a groom and took a deep breath before striding into the sála. He had a lot to talk to his son about and a lot of apologies to make. But first he had to corner the Fox…
"Diego? Diego!"
After watching the episode 'Master and Pupil' the other day, Alejandro would not leave me alone until I wrote this down. I get it Don Alejandro, you aren't that blind, now hush. It's not MY fault that the writers copped out on things in the end!