La Llorana: A Zorro Fanfic
Prologue-Over the Edge
The stallion was gasping and wheezing its once magnificent dappled gray coat lathered with sweat. She hated to treat the horse so miserably but she had to get away. So far away. The stallion and his passenger continued to move at breakneck speed. The surrounding countryside was nothing more than a blur to the girl's eyes. Only one thing was on her mind…fleeing.
At long last the girl slowed her mount and dismounted. She busied herself with untacking her horse and cooling him down. The stallion staggered over to a nearby stream and started to drink eagerly. Meanwhile the girl was peering through the branches checking for something or someone. Nearly an hour had passed when the young woman began to tack up again. She was just finishing the task of saddling when she heard the neigh of another horse Rushing back to a gap in the trees the girl saw to her horror a dark figure in the distance. It was still far away but she could tell it was moving in her direction and fast. Panic clutched her heart and for a moment her vision went fuzzy. No… no she couldn't faint she had to escape. Fighting back her fear the girl stumbled to her mount's side. She completed tightening the girth at lightning speed and swung herself aboard.
"Yah!" she nearly screamed and the stallion sprang forward.
It was like some horrible horse race. No matter how fast the girl spurred on the horse the other rider always seemed to gain. Glancing over her shoulder the girl saw her pursuer was a man. He was wearing black with clothes with a long black cape flying out behind him. She couldn't quite make out his face. The man shouted something she couldn't understand nor cared to. In desperation she spurred on her horse once more. That was her mistake…
The girl was so preoccupied with evading her pursuer that she had neglected to see the steep cliff she was rapidly approaching but her horse had. He swerved sharply to the left. If the saddle had been tight enough she might've been able to stay on. Unfortunately in her haste to escape she had failed to fasten the girth properly. So as the stallion had swerved the saddle flew over the cliff…with her on it.
The shock of hitting the ground was so great that the girl barely felt the scrapes she was receiving. Finally she rolled to a stop at the base. Whimpering she somehow managed to flip herself onto her back. Vaguely she remembered she was in trouble and tried to get up but her body wouldn't respond. Everything around her was dimming.
'Am I dying?' she wondered and then silently panicked.
'No…no! I don't want to die!'
That's when the sound of rocks tumbling down the cliff side registered in her numbing mind and she knew that her pursuer had caught up with her. Frantically the young girl changed her mind.
'Oh please don't make me go back!" she prayed silently.
She could hear footsteps then to her horror felt the other rider kneel next to her. The girl blacked out.
Zorro slowly knelt by the girl's side. She let out a weak moan. So she was alive. Thank goodness. Slowly he examined the rest of her body. Cuts were showing through her dress but nothing seemed life threatening. Still the young lady needed medical attention. Zorro considered taking her back to the pueblo but remembered the way the girl had reacted when she had seen him. She'd been terrified and though Zorro didn't know why it was obvious the girl was in some kind of danger.
If that were true and taking her to the town doctor was too risky he could always… He didn't like the alternative. Taking other people to his secret cave wasn't without its dangers either but it seemed to be the best option. Carefully Zorro put one arm around the girl's back and the other under her legs and gently lifted her up. She let out another pained moan but didn't stir. Her face was young about sixteen or seventeen with dark hair framing her face.
'Who would even consider trying to harm her?' Zorro wondered bitterly but he would deal with that later.
He let out a loud whistle and seconds later Toronado had appeared at his master's side. Taking caution not to injure the young woman any further Zorro mounted and rode off.