"Alright, now what am I supposed to do?" Ariella hissed at the hooded figure beside her, as she stood behind Victoria, "That git is going to be here any second."
"Patience, Señorita," he hushed, "I'll tell you soon enough."
Rolling hazel-brown eyes, Ariella crossed her arms and watched as Palomarez strutted into the tavern, fully aware that all eyes were on him - and loving the fact, apparently. She snorted softly.
What a diva.
"Colonel, I beg you to reconsider," the Alcalde said through clenched teeth. Palomarez sneered at him, his nostrils flaring.
"Snivelling will not bring me Zorro," he replied coldly.
"But summary executions - not even I would conceive of such a thing."
"It is brilliant in its simplicity," the demented Colonel smirked, before his face fell back into its standard frown. "I am here to draw the name of the individual who will face the gallows at sunrise"
"This is not justice! This is murder!" Victoria exclaimed.
"Bring Zorro to me before dawn, and only he will face the hangman's noose," Palomarez continued, acting like he couldn't hear Victoria's noises of outrage beside him.
"Señor," a new voice muttered, in an almost sing-song fashion.
"Careful, Don Diego," Mendoza cautioned a tall man in an expensive-looking blue suit.
"You have particular knowledge of Zorro, Señor?" Palomarez questioned.
"Zorro is a difficult man to know," Don Diego replied after a moment, folding his arms, "We've always been protected by his secret identity. And it has kept us safe from the excesses of the military"
"It's true!" Victoria interjected, "We do not know who he is, or where he is; so, your threats of violence will not help you find him."
"I certainly think it's worth a try." Palomarez smirked, digging a hand into the clay bowl in front of him, "The first person to die under the curse of your Zorro is..." he unfolded the tiny slip of paper, and a broad grin spread itself across his face. "Sergeant Jaime Mendoza."
Poor Mendoza went as white as a sheet, swaying on the spot as the tavern erupted into relieved sighs and whispers.
"You can't be serious!" the Alcalde hissed, "Military personnel should not be included in this!"
"Oh, but they are Señor. Even your name is in the bowl," Palomarez said pleasantly, throwing the scrap of paper back among the rest as the Alcalde's face went slack.
"What?"
"Persist with your interference and yours will be the only name in the bowl," the Colonel continued pointedly, gesturing lazily to the quivering Mendoza as he turned and left, "Take him!"
Two of his personal guards forced Mendoza's hands behind his back as he struggled, his face pleading as he gazed at the Alcalde. The blonde looked shell-shocked.
"I'm sorry, Sergeant," was all he could manage as Mendoza was hauled out of the tavern, people pressing themselves away from him as though he had a terrible disease.
"Zorro should have shown himself by now," Victoria said quietly, looking lost and vaguely hurt.
"Don't worry. Zorro will help somehow," Don Diego replied vaguely, his brow furrowed.
"Unless he's learnt what we already know," the Alcalde muttered.
"What's that, Alcalde?" Don Diego asked.
"That Colonel Palomarez is a man with no mercy."
The caballero cast a glance across the tavern before returning his gaze to the Alcalde. Ariella felt a hand grasp her elbow and pull her towards the kitchen. Once behind the thick blanket, she turned to stare questioningly at her companion.
"Alright, so, what's with all the privacy?" she asked, folding her arms.
"Now, my dear," he muttered, tucking his arms into the billowing sleeves of his monk's robe, "Listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you..."
If I could go back in time and kick my own ass...Ariella swore under her breath as she sat shivering on the church roof - where she'd been for the last four hours, at his instance. Apparently, she was supposed to sit here and wait until Mendoza was standing at the gallows, and according to her 'friend' Miguel (who'd finally offered her a name), she'd receive further instructions.
So much fun, she thought wryly, rubbing her arms. I've always loved the waiting game. The sun had begun to rise, and there was already a crowd gathering in the plaza - and no sign of any instructions that she was aware of.
"Oh for the love of..." she grumbled, scrambling to a crouching position before beginning to crawl to the rope she'd climbed up to get to this ridiculous place, "I give up."
Hand outstretched to grasp the first knot, she froze as the rope twitched and a large, black-gloved hand appeared in front of her...followed by a masked face. She gulped.
"Uhm...buenos dias?" she tried weakly, scooting back as Zorro stood in front of her, tall, dark, and very intimidating.
"Buenos Dias, Señorita," he replied pleasantly, though his eyes were narrowed slightly. "May I ask why you are on top of the church roof?"
Ariella could feel her face redden slightly.
Oh…I hate my cheeks, she thought irritably. A variety of things could make her turn as rosy as an apple: being too warm, drinking too much coffee, some of the medicines she took, or, in this case, being embarrassed. It had been one of her biggest aggravations since she had been twelve and gotten her first crush. Couple that with her flaming red hair, and it looked like someone had put a match to her.
"I'm waiting for someone, Señor. I was told to be here by dawn…it took me awhile to climb up in this," she rambled, gesturing at her ankle-length brown skirt. He said nothing for a brief moment, but his lips twitched slightly.
"Your name, Señorita?"
"Ariella."
"An honour, Señorita," he replied smoothly, holding out a hand. Ariella grasped it with her own and was pulled upright before he placed a small kiss on her knuckles. Her cheeks flamed again.
"Likewise, Señor," Ariella answered briskly, dropping her hand down by her side. "Now, since you're the only one up here, I'm assuming I've to help you in some way." Aside, she muttered, "And just why that annoying idiot couldn't tell me who is completely beyond me..."
"I accept no help, Señorita," Zorro said, folding his arms, "It guarantees no military retribution on those close to me."
Ariella could feel her temper starting to fray. Yes, he was being very noble and all, but she was supposed to help him; heck, she'd just spend the night outside in the cold, rather than curled up in bed like she'd wanted to. On top of that, she'd gone into the freaking past, with no clue how to get home, or when she'd be able to.
"Look; as, um, noble as that statement is, I was told that if I helped you, I could go home," she replied, her fists clenching, "I want to go home, therefore, I'll help you. And," she added, pointing a finger at him, "In case you think I'm an ice-queen, I also want to put that smug bastard Palomarez in his place. I like Mendoza, and he shouldn't have been arrested because that asshat ordered it."
Blinking slowly, a grin settled on Zorro's lips.
"Colourful language, for a Señorita," he commented. Ariella shrugged, her head tilting slightly and causing her flame-coloured curls to brush the top of her right shoulder.
"This is nothing. You should see me when I really get started."
"Very well. Since I can't convince you otherwise..." he pulled out a bow, and several prepared arrows from the satchel underneath the back of his cape. "How good of a shot are you?"
There was a small meeting in a secret chamber across the street from the church. Neither Ariella nor Zorro (or anyone else for that matter) knew about it. Miguel entered the room, still dressed as a priest. There were two or three others there as well. There was a petite young woman who wore an indigo-coloured hood with silver trim and there was a very large man who was decked out in full battle armour.
"What have you gotten this poor girl into? Can't you see that she's going to flounder? What were you thinking, bringing her into the past!" the woman snapped, her voice as hard as steel.
Miguel merely smiled.
"She wasn't happy where she was. The pendant went to her, just was as planned. Do you know how hard it was to get that thing to her? I kept an eye on it, making sure that it didn't get lost, broken, or otherwise defaced."
The armoured man placed his hand on Miguel's shoulder as bangs and shouts filtered through from the plaza.
"Listen…I know that you have good intentions with the girl. I can see that you chose very carefully, but that doesn't guarantee a match. Even if he does come to his senses, they'll have the whole outside world to deal with. A man and woman in love isn't of concern here, but a caballero and an outsider - that will start their tongues lashing."
"But they will have each other and they will have God," Miguel argued, "her faith is strong…I hear her prayers constantly, even if she tries to hide it. She is exactly what he needs. No more of these silly rules and limitations. The outside world will be the easy part."
Realizing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Miguel at the moment, the armoured man merely shook his head and smiled.
"Well…pray tell then, what exactly do you intend to do? We have pieces that don't quite fit together."
"Well, fortunately for us, Palomarez's haste will be his downfall - within the hour, he'll have left Los Angeles."
"All right, then what?" the woman asked exasperatedly.
"Then, curious, Zorro will try to find out all he can about Los Angeles's newest addition. He'll begin trusting her, and she'll play her part to perfection."
"What can she do?"
Miguel grinned.
"Oh, a great deal, my friends. A great deal."
"I'm going down," Zorro muttered, tossing the rope over the ledge where Ariella sat, firing her arrows.
"Alright," she grunted, rubbing her cheek quickly, "I'll join you soon. And Zorro?" she grinned wickedly at his inquiring look. "Kick that Colonel's ass."
"Brigadiers, bring me the head of Zorro!" Palomarez bellowed below, as several horses galloped past the church, the Alcade on one of them.
"With pleasure, Señorita," he laughed, before disappearing down the rope. Notching the last arrow, Ariella took aim.
"Hold still, Sergeant. Hold very still," she muttered, a practiced eye sighting down the arrow's shaft, the string of the bow taut.
Biting her lip softly, her fingers went slack, and the string released with a twang, followed immediately by the thunk of an arrow, burying itself in the dirt beyond the gallows as Mendoza sank to his knees, a delighted smile on his face as the now severed rope hung uselessly around his neck. Ariella smirked with satisfaction, hiding the bow behind the low wall around the roof of the church. Climbing down the rope was slightly more tricky then climbing up - she had to be slow to avoid detection, despite Zorro currently causing a commotion. Let them think Zorro had fired the arrows. She didn't need to be associated with this little incident in the eyes of the pueblo. Eventually, her feet touched ground and she let go of the rope gladly. Sidling into the crowd, she slowly made her way towards Victoria and the now-freed Sergeant.
"Zorro will win," Victoria was saying confidently as she slipped behind them.
"Palomarez has never been beaten!" Mendoza interjected, looking shocked.
"Then it's about time someone did, isn't it?" Ariella said coolly.
"Ariella! Where have you been?" Victoria exclaimed.
"Around," she answered vaguely, laughing and clapping as Zorro pulled the lever on the gallows where he and Palomarez had been duelling, and the Colonel landed very ungracefully on his fat behind. Zorro winked, then pulled Palomarez from underneath the scaffold who seemed very dazed.
"As we agreed Colonel," Zorro said pointedly and clearly, "You must leave Los Angeles. Señor, may I borrow your mount?"
A middle-aged man was grinning as he pulled over a grey donkey. Palomarez shook his desperately, before Zorro landed a resounding blow on his cheek, the force knocking him out - and onto the donkey. Giving the poor animal a slap on the rump, the entire pueblo laughing and pointing, just as the Alcalde and Palomarez's troops arrived back.
Ariella would swear afterwards that she'd never laughed so much in her life at the looks on their faces.
Hello people! This story will be updated every Thursday, just so you know. Check out my facebook page; link is on my profile! Also, thanks to the lovely person who reviewed - this is for you!
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Much love, Princess Kanako x