Chapter 4

When Ana returned to Diego's bedside he had fallen into an uneasy sleep. A high fever had finally taken hold of him and had cursed his slumber with nightmares. Letting out a heavy sigh she set down the tea tray on the nightstand and sat down on the bed next to him.

"What am I going to do with you?" she directed her question at the unconscious man, never expecting to get an answer. Gently she stroked his hot cheek as a sudden feeling of compassion engulfed her entire being. "I'm so sorry. You're probably the one person in this pueblo that doesn't deserve any of this after all that you've done for its people. And to make things worse, you're stuck with me." She laughed halfheartedly and turned to pour some of the herbal tea into a cup. Ana scooted up to sit closer to his head. Sliding her free hand under his sweaty neck, she held his head up and tried to get some of the tea down his throat. It wasn't much but at least she managed to get some of the liquid into his system while all the while praying, that it would do its miracles. "Rest now." Gently she placed his head back on the pillow and went back to the main room.

For the second time that night, she let her tired body collapse into the old armchair in front of the fireplace. Watching the flames licking at the substance of the wood they were engulfing, she let her mind wander to memories of a different life – a life in which everything had been easy and nothing could have been wrong. Her expression softened when she thought of Pablo and José, the happiness she had felt whenever she'd seen their faces, their smiles, had heard their laughter. All of this had been taken from her and before the happy memories could be replaced by dark ones, she shook herself out of her reverie. Instead she grabbed for a book that lay open the coffee table next to her armchair. Gently Ana caressed the worn pages with her fingertips, before she lost herself in the beauty and sadness of the sonnets she knew by heart. Stumbling upon the one, that held the secrets of her soul, she read it aloud in a hushed tone, in a feeble attempt to let her voice do to her heart what she wouldn't allow herself otherwise. Heal.

"When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,

With what I most enjoy most contented least;

Yet, in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

Like the lark at break of dawn arising

From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings."*

zZzZz

"It can't be. It is not possible", Victoria cried out desperately after she'd cleared the tavern of its guests and had closed for the day. The six men had left protesting heavily, but when she offered them their orders free of charge, the eventually left her establishment peacefully. "He can't be dead, Felipe!" The tavern owner sat down on the small bench next to Felipe and shook her head in utter terror and disbelief. The young man gave her a compassionate look and smiled a little. When he touched her delicate wrist ever so lightly she turned to look at him, so that she could read his signs.

'I'm sure they were just bragging to impress everybody. Don't you think they'd go to the Alcalde's office first to collect their reward for capturing Zorro?' Felipe signed and tried to smile encouragingly.

"You're probably right", Victoria admitted and let out a heavy sigh to calm herself. "Maybe I was rushing things a little when I closed the tavern early." She smiled and patted Felipe's forearm.

'I'll tell Don Diego what happened. He's in bed with a cold. Again.' That was at least what Felipe was hoping for. He'd borrowed one of Diego's many excuses to explain his absence at midmorning. Usually the young caballero came to the pueblo rather early in the morning to work for the Los Angeles Guardian – the newspaper he was publishing. But Zorro had ridden the previous night and so Felipe was not surprised to find Diego's bedroom empty in the wee hours of the morning. It had probably taken longer to get home than usually and so he'd spent the night in the cave. However, he had no proof for his theory whatsoever. He was accustomed to tend to Zorro's horse first thing in the morning – usually a long time before the rest of the hacienda's occupants woke, but today Don Alejandro, Diego's father, had also been up early and had asked for Felipe's help with some business in town. That was also the reason why Felipe had come to the tavern alone – something that rarely ever occurred. He usually was in the company of one or even both the de la Vega men, but Don Alejandro had sent him to get some breakfast while he attended to his business.

"Again?" Victoria frowned. "Don Diego seems to catch a cold nearly every other week", she giggled and shook her head. "I'm sorry Felipe, but sometimes I honestly wonder if he's really his father's son. Well, tell him I'd love to talk to him when he feels better. I'm sure he'll know what to make of those cow herders' statements." She got up from her seat and was instantly joined by Felipe who signed a quick goodbye. While Victoria was busy reopening the tavern, she never saw the look of worry on the young man's face as he stormed out of the tavern.

Felipe was glad he'd insisted to ride his paint earlier when he'd accompanied Don Alejandro to town. He quickly mounted and forced his horse into a gallop back to the hacienda. It didn't take him long to get there and he jumped from the saddle as soon as his paint came to a halt in front of the main gate. He ran inside toward the library and almost ran over one of the servants who gave him a scolding look. Felipe didn't care. As soon as the woman was gone, he triggered the mechanism at the fireplace's mantel that allowed him access to Zorro's cave. Quickly he slipped through the secret passageway and ran along the corridor that leg into the main part of the cave. Standing at the top of the stairs he couldn't make out Diego anywhere in the cave from his viewing point. A feeling of extreme terror took hold of his heart as he went down the stairs and peeked around the corner hoping that he'd least see to Toronado in his box. To his horror the black stallion was also missing and realization struck Felipe with full force. Those men at the tavern had probably been right. All of a sudden his world was turned upside down with the very real danger of the man he considered a father being dead.

zZzZz

The first rays of sunlight fell through the small window next to the front door and illuminated the small room instantly. The remains of the fire were still glowing in the fireplace when Ana's eyes slowly fluttered open. As sleeps fogginess began to make room for her conscious mind, she began to feel the stiffness in her bones and she moaned when she stretched her limps to chase it away. Her back was hurting, no doubt from the efforts of the previous night and sleeping in an armchair, that was a highly comfortable place to rest but failed to provide the relaxation of a mattress. Yawning she got up and stretched her limbs once more but the dull pain in her back and shoulders just wouldn't go away. With a heavy sigh she stepped outside and stood leaning against the door frame as she watched the world waking. The two horses in her corral were standing together closely, their heads bent low, obviously still asleep. She smiled and inhaled the fresh morning air before she turned back to go inside and check on her house guest. To her relief Diego was sleeping peacefully now, but the signs of a raging fever and the struggles against it of the previous night were still evident on his pale face. Softly placing her hand on his forehead, she checked his temperature and allowed herself a little smile, when his skin felt a bit cooler to her touch. Ana drew back the covers to check on the wound on his torso. The bandages were still white which indicated, that the stitches probably hadn't broken when his entire body had been convulsing as a result of his high temperature. She began to carefully remove the bandages to clean the wound and check for infection, when she felt him stirring under her touch. As she turned her head, his eyes were open and he was watching her.

"Good morning," Ana greeted him quietly and turned back to the task at hand. She really didn't care to deepen their 'conversation' and simply continued with her work.

"Where am I?" His voice was hoarse and weak and he found it extremely difficult to speak.

"In my bed," she retorted. "This left only the armchair for me, so that I have you to thank for my sore back."

"My apologies," Diego mumbled.

"No apologies necessary. You need the bed more than I do," she said a bit softer and eventually looked at him. "Bandits overwhelmed you last night out in the plains and left you for dead. With a little guidance from your horse I found you and brought you back here," she explained and then fixed her gaze on the wound on his stomach again. Talking to him, looking him in the eyes made her nervous and so she preferred to busy herself with what to most would appear as amore gruesome task. The wound didn't appear to be inflamed very badly, as the edges of skin were only a little redder, than they were supposed to be. "Tell me. Are you in any more pain, apart from your head and stomach?" she queried, still avoiding his eyes.

"My lower back," he grunted as he tried to shift a little to get more comfortable.

"That was to be expected. I'm afraid I'll have to inflict some more pain on you right now. Steel yourself. I'm going to use alcohol to clean your wound." Out of the corner of her eye she glanced for any sign of his that he did know what was coming up. He nodded slightly and then grimaced in pain as she pressed an alcohol soaked cloth against the wound. Ana tried to finish her task as quickly as humanly possible to spare him any further pain. When she removed the cloth, the pain dulled to a bearable level, but the procedure had left him panting heavily. She applied the nasty smelling ointment once again and then covered it all with a clean cloth. "Do you think you could sit up for me? It certainly would make bandaging that wound a lot easier."

"Yes", came Diego's immediate, however hardly audible answer. He tried to force himself into a sitting position as his eyes suddenly grew wide. "What's that?" Fear was very evident in his eyes as he looked at her intently, trying to force her to look back at him.

"What's what?" she asked and put the bandage aside on the covers.

"I can't feel my legs…"

*Sonnet #29 by William Shakespeare

AN: Well, this is a little shorter than I intended, but I like the cliffhanger at the end. ;-) I'm afraid that there won't be another chapter tomorrow. I have a dentist's appointment after work and since this is not one of my favorite things in the world, I might not want to sit down at my computer after that. Sorry. Well, I hope you still enjoy this little crazy idea of mine. :D