YOU'VE MADE YOUR BED...

Disclaimer – I don't own the rights, Zorro Productions Inc does - I just like to play with the characters.

Plot – What if the episode LOVE POTION # 9 had ended differently, what if Zorro hadn't interrupted Victoria's romantic dinner with de Soto.

Some readers may find this a little disturbing.

Chapter 1

Victoria slowly woke from a wonderful dream and felt a strange but peaceful sense of contentment wash over her. She didn't want to wake up; she wanted to stay in that warm, fuzzy place so she snuggled more deeply into the mattress, hoping to reclaim that inner peace that she was feeling. As she slowly let sleep claim her once more, she heard a strange noise that she couldn't place. Then it came again, a deep rumbling sound and it came from behind her.

She tried to ignore it but as the sound came a third time, she had to find out what it was otherwise she would never get back to sleep. She slowly rolled over, groaned softly as her muscles protested the movement and when she opened her eyes and saw in the early morning light what was making the sound, she let out a loud piercing scream that shattered the quiet tavern and didn't stop.

Lying beside her in her small bed was Ignacio de Soto and from what she could see, he was naked and so was she.

Ignacio de Soto was having a wonderful dream, he felt relaxed and completely contented and wonderfully warm as though there was someone lying next to him, sharing his body heat. His sleep was shattered by a woman screaming and the next thing he knew he was on the hard, cold floor. Someone had pushed him out of bed. It was then he realised that he was naked as the day he had been born and the woman screaming was Victoria Escalante. He was mortified as he searched frantically for his clothes and tried to remember how he came to be in this situation.

Victoria was beyond mortification, she was hysterical as she continued to scream and yell at him. "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" Her mind couldn't accept what had occurred as she held the bed covers up to her chin.

Ignacio's heart pounded so hard that he thought it would burst, his hands shook as he pulled on his trousers and in his haste, he stumbled and fell back down onto the floor. He felt sick and he felt great shame at what he had done. "Forgive me, forgive me." his voice was hoarse as though he had been the one screaming.

"GET OUT, GET OUT!" she screamed again.

Ignacio picked up the rest of his clothes and bolted from her bedroom, and stumbled down the stairs, his face burned deep red 'what have I done' he muttered as he reached the main taproom of the tavern and collapsed onto a seat to finish dressing.

Victoria was in deep shock, her slender body shook violently, she felt icy cold, she felt so sick that she lurched out of bed and was physically ill in the chamber pot that was under her bed. As her body stopped heaving, she slid further down on the floor and pulled the bedcover over her bare skin, but not before she saw a very faint smear of blood on her inner thighs. She let out another primal scream, which went on and on.

Ignacio had just pulled on his boots and was about to exit the tavern when the terrible scream came from upstairs, it was a scream that made his blood run cold and froze his soul. He all but ran out of the tavern at that dreadful sound. How had it reached that staged? How could he have been intimate with the senorita, he asked himself as he crossed the plaza and entered his office and quarters. He remembered the romantic dinner they had, the wine they had drunk and when he began kissing her, the passion just exploded between them and he recalled carrying her upstairs to her room and…

He shook his head in disbelief at the memory of their behaviour over the last two days, ever since he used that damn potion in their drinks in an effort to catch Zorro. It had not turned out the way he had hoped, just the opposite. He had not captured the masked bandit.

Victoria lay curled up in a ball on the floor of her bedroom, her heart and soul broken as the realisation of what had occurred hit her. She had given herself to the man who wanted to destroy the man she loved, the man she had saved herself for, Zorro. She felt such shame and guilt that she just wanted to die. She remembered with horror that she had been a willing partner in their…actions. He had not forced her.

"What have I done? What have I done?" she wailed. "Oh Zorro forgive me, please forgive me. I'm so sorry, so sorry." she whimpered as hot tears flowed down her face.

Ignacio closed the door of his private quarters and let out a shuddering sigh, grateful that he had seen no-one on the way back from the tavern. It was still very early, just after dawn so there was no-one around. He still could not believe that their behaviour had ended up in her bed. He crossed to the washbasin, splashed water on his burning face, and tried to calm his beating heart. As he reached for the towel with trembling hands, the shock had eased a little and a new feeling emerged, a feeling of satisfaction, of superiority, of smugness. He had always assumed that Zorro was her lover but he had been surprised but very pleased to find out otherwise. He had taken her virginity; he had been her first, not Zorro.

He laughed aloud. He would use this knowledge against the masked man sometime in the future. He knew it would kill him much, much more than a bullet would. He would simply wait for the right time. Then he frowned as another thought crossed his mind. If or when Zorro found out about what had happened, he would unquestionably become so furious that he might even kill him for dishonouring the woman he loved. He would have to be careful of when and how he would tell the masked bandit that his woman was no longer his.