Disclaimer: Zorro belongs to ZPI and "Like Father, Like Son" was written by Tim Minear. Anything you recognize from the episode isn't mine. Also thanks to Pamz for her transcripts which makes it much easier to incorporate the episode dialogue.
Summary: A month after the wedding, a bump on the head sends Don Alejandro off in a dangerous disguise.
Author's Notes: Here we go the beginning of Diego and Victoria's life as a married couple, and I enter the awkward period of trying to describe a happy marriage while not explicitly describing what they're getting up to in the privacy of their bedroom.
Also this episode proved to be a bit of a challenge to work out, and thus I ended up rearranging some things and changing De Soto's motivations and behavior a bit, which I probably shouldn't bother pointing out considering this is an AU.
Final note, this story is a two parter, and part 2 will be going up tomorrow. Also while new reviews are not currently visible on stories, I still get the alerts with the reviews though I apparently will not be able to respond to them directly until whatever is going on with them is fixed, but trust me every review is very much appreciated. In any event, I don't think it's fair to hold this story back for that reason alone.
Topsy Turvy
(Like Father, Like Son)
Part 1
"Where are you going, Victoria?" Diego asked, sleepily tightening his arm around her as she tried slipping out of bed. He was still not a morning person, while Victoria certainly was, but he really didn't mind waking up with the most beautiful woman in the world in his— their— bed, and so far early waking had not yet translated to early bed leaving.
"I promised Sgt. Mendoza that I'd make tamales for him after we returned, and I really should check on the tavern," she said, though it sounded as if the idea was starting to lose some of its appeal, and he was determined to do his part to encourage her to remain right where she was.
"But surely you don't need to leave so early," he said as she relaxed back against him.
"I... I did promise..." Victoria stammered as Diego nuzzled her neck. He'd spent the last month learning her weak spots, and he intended to exploit them. "Mmm," she murmured as he let his hands started wandering. "And... I..." she turned over to let her hands do some roving of their own, "I suppose lunch would be soon enough."
~Z~Z~Z~
After having a very late breakfast and a brief greeting to his father who was taking some time to reread Don Quixote, Diego walked with Victoria to the stables.
"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" Diego asked.
"I'm sure if you do, I won't get any work done," she said, kissing him. "Just give me enough time to get the tamales cooked. You can check on your lab if... your father..."
"I suppose I could. I haven't done much lately in the... lab," he said, wrapping his arm around her.
"I've been distracting you," Victoria said.
Diego leaned down to kiss her. "I don't consider any of our time together this past month as a distraction; that implies that there are other more important things than you."
"Well, there are other things we need to tend to," she said with a soft sigh.
"Unfortunately, yes, but at the moment they seem to be unnecessary impediments in our path."
"We still have siesta and the evening," Victoria said.
He smiled. "Yes, we do."
Diego gave her one more extremely thorough kiss, during which he tried to figure out how to change her mind about his accompanying her or keeping her at home with him, but Victoria with obvious reluctance pulled away before mounting Fortuna and heading towards the pueblo. With a sigh, Diego watched her leave his sight before heading back inside the hacienda to see how much longer his father intended to sit and read. However, he was somewhat surprised to see that the sala was empty, but that was nothing to his dismay when he saw that the fireplace wall was open.
With a sense of panic, he slipped through, just remembering to close the door behind him before racing downstairs. At a cursory glance the cave seemed much as usual, but then Diego realized that Toronado was gone. Another moment and he spotted his father's clothes hanging where his usually were and Don Quixote lying open on the floor. Zorro's clothes were missing, though he was relieved to see that Sir Edmund's sword was still where it belonged though another of his swords (one that had belonged to his grandfather) was missing. A sinking feeling was rapidly spreading over him.
In his father's right mind, if he stumbled into the cave, he would have stayed there, waiting to confront his son, with either anger or disappointment, but it appeared that his father had put on Zorro's clothes and taken Zorro's horse to go and ride out. There was something not right about this. Looking around the floor near him, he spotted what looked like a light smearing of blood on a handkerchief that lay just under where his father's clothes hung. He then grabbed his father's clothes to check them. There was no blood on them that he could see. He turned back and looked more closely at the floor. He had disturbed the room, but it looked rather like someone had taken a fall.
He had a sudden flash back to Mendoza's amnesia where his personality changed. If his father had hit his head in the fall... He looked back at the title of the book and then where his missing clothes had hung. Panic returning, he headed upstairs. Please God above, let his father only be out trying to tilt at windmills.
~o~O~o~
Victoria was busy in the kitchens. The tavern had been fuller than expected, and she'd ended up cooking far more than she had planned in order to try to keep up. She reflected that her month of married life had made her soft as she was finding it more of a challenge than it should have been to get back into the rhythm of the work. And she'd had to send out Señor Calvillo to get some extra supplies to help, since he was the only one who could be spared from the kitchen.
She began to regret that notion when she finally left the kitchen and noticed Mendoza playing cards with two strangers.
"Mendoza!" she said. "How many times have I told you there is to be no gambling in this tavern. Is that any way to thank me for your tamales?"
"I... I ... must get back to work. Please forgive me," he said, getting up to go. "Con permiso."
Victoria looked at him in irritation before shifting the same gaze to the two strangers.
"We were just having some harmless fun, my pretty señorita," said the older of the two men.
Victoria wondered just how long it would take for Señor Calvillo to return, as at the moment she had little patience to deal with troublesome guests. "In the first place, Señor, gambling is not harmless fun," she said, letting her aggravation out as she gathered up the cards. "And in the second place, Mendoza doesn't earn enough, and he has the card sense of a turnip. And in the third place, it's señora, and don't even think in your wildest dreams that I could be your anything."
She stalked over to the bar, wishing that Diego would get there. Even in his peace loving persona, he had a calming effect on her if nothing else, and frankly, she was in no fit humor to remain much longer, but she could not justify leaving until Señor Calvillo returned at least.
And just to make her day even worse those two obnoxious strangers approached the bar.
Once again the older one addressed her. "Uh, señora, my brother and I, we just had a little wager..."
"Didn't I just explain to you that gambling was not..."
"Sí, sí, you told us," he said, "but you see, I have just bet him ten pesos that you would give me a kiss." He gestured to his mouth as he finished.
Victoria was both annoyed and disgusted. She should have stayed at home in bed with her husband. "Then I think you should pay him his ten pesos," she snapped, turning away. Why did so many men think they were irresistible to women? Or was it the idea of a challenge? Either way she had no intention of putting up with this. And where was Señor Calvillo? He should have been back by now.
She heard the man say, "We shall see," and then heard the shattering of glass.
Whirling back around, Victoria exclaimed, "Are you crazy?"
The man's brother pulled out a large knife turning towards the rest of the room, and Victoria watched as her customers abandoned the place like cowards. They had faced a siege of bandits yet they abandoned her to two crazy men. Well, she was not going to be cowed, and she had a weapon hidden in her pocket that she would use if she had to.
Another glass was broken, and then the old man grabbed her wrist, "Caution, Señora," he said. "Is all this worth one little kiss?"
Victoria braced herself to get to her knife, when she suddenly heard a noise from above.
"Filthy heathens!"
Looking up, Victoria saw what looked like Zorro, but something wasn't right; that wasn't Diego. "Zorro?"
"Remove your hands from the lady," the man dressed as Zorro said, as the old man yanked on her arm. "Or I'll remove them... from your wrists!"
The man jumped from the balcony to the chandelier, ending up hanging from it as it barely moved. Victoria was trying to figure who this strange Zorro was, as he seemed very familiar.
"Very peculiar," the man said as he hung almost stationary.
The two strangers rushed towards him, pulling their swords, and Victoria was momentarily too stunned to go for a weapon of her own. As he struggled with the chandelier, the false Zorro kicked at the men as they tried to stab him. After another moment, with a cry, the false Zorro dropped on top of the strangers, knocking them to the floor.
As he pushed himself up, the false Zorro turned towards her and shouted, "Victory!" He then approached the bar and taking her hand said, "Lady, are you injured?"
"No," Victoria managed to say, even as she struggled with the strange sense of familiarity she had with the false Zorro. She should know who he was.
"Then I dedicate this victory to thy radiance which has kindled my inspiration," he said.
Victoria had no time to react to his flowery sentiments before she saw that the two strangers had risen from the floor. She called, "Look out!"
The false Zorro spun around to face the strangers. After a brief exchange of words during which the masked man pulled out his sword while circling around the strangers, the older stranger said, "Let us see... if your skill matches your reputation."
Hesitating for a moment the false Zorro suddenly said, "Nay! I shall not blunt my sword against such unworthy opponents." He switched his sword from his right to his left before reaching under his cape and pulling out a whip. "Therefore... you shall feel the sting of my lash!"
Victoria was vaguely horrified by what happened next. When the masked man attempted to crack his whip at the strangers, it instead somehow got wrapped around the post behind him, pulling the false Zorro off balance just in time to get him out of the way of the older stranger's sword which ended up stuck in the same post the whip was attached to.
The fight itself ended up being awkward, and Victoria was worried for the false Zorro as he seemed somewhat oblivious. She called out again to warn him when the older man managed to get his sword loose from the post. And it seemed more luck than any cunning that had the man's strike miss the false Zorro and instead hit the other man. And as she wondered what she could or should do, she once again wished she knew where Diego was.
~Z~Z~Z~
Diego had been riding out for some time, looking for Toronado without much luck until he neared the pueblo and found him wandering just outside, very much alone. This was not good. He didn't know what his father was up to but being dressed as Zorro was bad enough, though he'd already come up with an explanation if anyone saw him. However, the excuse would not work if he was caught with Toronado. In two minds about sending Toronado away, Diego finally felt that the ability to more completely disassociate his father from Zorro was more important than having the fastest horse to facilitate an escape, especially as he had no idea where his father was, though he had a bad feeling he knew as he could hear the sounds of commotion in the pueblo. So he sent Toronado away and headed into town in a hurry, to find his worst fears being realized as he saw De Soto and the lancers getting into position outside the tavern.
Almost panicked but trying to keep cool, Diego shouted, "Alcalde! What's going on?" He hurriedly dismounted and approached the men.
As usual, De Soto was rather dismissive in his response. "Not now, Diego."
However, also as usual Mendoza was far more helpful. "The brothers Esteban, they're inside."
Diego felt a strange mixture of relief and trepidation. "The brothers Esteban? Then it's not..." He broke off quickly before he could finish the thought and then had the horrible realization that Victoria was nowhere in sight. "Where's Victoria?"
Mendoza hesitated for a long moment before speaking. "Doña Victoria's also inside."
Fear settling in, Diego started moving towards the tavern. "The brothers Esteban are ruthless cutthroats..."
He didn't get far before De Soto grabbed his arm. "Diego, this isn't a surprise party, it's an ambush." He shoved him back. "Please stand clear!"
Before he could do anything, a man came rolling out of the tavern. When he unsteadily scrambled to his feet and turned back towards the tavern, a Z was clearly visible on the seat of his trousers. The nervous crowd laughed as the man fell back down to the ground.
De Soto, now distracted by the thoughts of capturing Zorro, forgot about the Esteban brothers and instead focused on his regular nemesis. "Zorro! He's inside! And he's surrounded! What luck! Lancers!"
Diego almost wished he had not sent Toronado back to the cave, but then if his father did try making an escape, Esperanza would be fast and easy to control if his father had sense enough to take her. In any event, he would do his best to protect his father, but first he'd have to know what kind of trouble he was in, so he followed the crowd to the tavern.
What he saw gave him no comfort as there next to Victoria his father stood in Zorro's mask with his grandfather's sword pointed at the other Esteban brother, just waiting as he was surrounded by lancers. Unsure what to do, he stood still until Victoria ran into his arms. He held her close and quietly asked if she was all right. She nodded slightly, looking confused.
"El Zorro," De Soto said as he pulled the sword from the masked man's hand. "At last it ends. The moment I've been waiting for... The moment that I've dreamed of since I came to this pueblo de Los Angeles." He grabbed the hat. "And now everyone shall see the face beneath the mask." He pulled the mask off to reveal Don Alejandro.
Diego worked to make himself look as shocked as everyone else at the revelation. Victoria collapsed back against him as if struck, though he got the impression she was exaggerating for the crowd and to give him an excuse to pay more attention to her than the unmasking.
Mendoza was the first to speak. "Don Alejandro! Can't be! We've seen Zorro many times. We've stood right next to him and Don Alejandro's been right beside us."
Diego put up a quiet prayer of thanks that Mendoza was so quick to bring this up, as he didn't want to be the one to start the defense of his father.
He was shocked when De Soto replied, "It's a testament to his cleverness, Sergeant. The man is a master of deceit. He wears the mask. He wears the cape and he interferes where he is not wanted. And now, I've got him. I've won. I've caught Zorro!"
Don Alejandro stood impassive before saying, "Do your worst... Oh ye of the woeful countenance."
De Soto gestured for the men to take him and the Estebans away. While the lancers were quick to grab the Estebans, no one seemed to want to approach Don Alejandro. With a sigh, Mendoza stepped up to say, "This way, Don Alejandro."
Without a word, head held high, Don Alejandro walked with slow dignity out of the tavern; De Soto followed with an insufferable air of triumph. Diego watched him go with trepidation, then glanced down at Victoria, before carrying her to the parlor and setting her down on the couch where she sat up quickly.
"Tell me what happened," Diego said.
Swiftly, she told him everything from the gambling up to his father knocking the elder Esteban out the door of the tavern.
When she finished, Victoria said, "Diego, you really should go and see about your father," she said quietly. "I can wait for an explanation about how your father ended up thinking he was Zorro, much less dressed as him."
"I will, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how it all came about," he said. "But stay here and see what the mood of the people is. I have a feeling we might need it."
She nodded her head and gave him a quick kiss before sending him back out the door. Diego worked his way past the milling crowd to head over to the jail. Mendoza was just leaving when he got there.
"Sergeant, I want to see my father," he said without preamble.
Mendoza looked nervous. "I'm not sure about that..."
"Please," Diego said. "My father has not been well. I need to examine him."
"Well, all right," Mendoza said. "I mean this is all crazy. Everyone knows that Don Alejandro can't possibly be Zorro. I mean I've seen them both. A lot of us have seen them both."
"I know. I'm afraid my father's a little out of his head right now."
"You mean like that time when I don't remember anything but apparently acted crazy," Mendoza said. "That would explain why he kept calling me Sancho Panza. I don't know any Sancho Panza."
"He's a character from Don Quixote," Diego said. "I'm afraid my father has somehow gotten Don Quixote and Zorro all mixed up in his head. Now can I see him?"
Mendoza nodded and led Diego inside, where he saw a couple of lancers standing guard. That did not bode well for an escape, if it came down to it. Surely De Soto couldn't really believe that his father was Zorro. He shook away his worries about De Soto in order to focus on his father who was sitting calmly in his cell.
"Ah, Sancho, back already," he said. "Though I do not think it is dark."
"Ah, no, Don Alejandro. I've brought you a visitor," Mendoza said. "Your son wants to see you."
"Son... son..." Don Alejandro looked at Diego confused. "Nicholas?"
"No, father, Diego," Diego said as Mendoza unlocked the cell. "I've come to see to you. You shouldn't have left home after hitting your head." He was certain it had to be a blow to the head, and the lump he found when he examined his father's head confirmed his supposition.
"How could I remain at home when evil men must be fought?" Don Alejandro asked, turning his head to glare at the two men in the other cell.
"Father, you're a little confused right now," Diego said.
"Confused, Nicholas? Of course, I am not confused," Don Alejandro declaimed. "Zorro will soon be free to fight again for the honor of the lovely Dulcinea. Have no fear for me."
"I will try," Diego said, before turning to Mendoza. "Sergeant, I'd best see the alcalde now."
"Of course, Don Diego," Mendoza said.
As Diego left, he could hear his father starting up a rousing speech on the perils that evil doers would face from the mighty Zorro.
Going the long way around so as not to have to immediately explain that he'd been in the jail to see his father, Diego found De Soto sitting at his desk going through some papers when he entered.
"Alcalde," Diego said, once De Soto had looked up and acknowledged his presence, "you cannot possibly believe that my father is Zorro. He's been visible too often when Zorro has appeared. I can call half the pueblo to testify on his behalf, including yourself."
"Then how do you explain his behavior and disguise?" De Soto said, his cool tone making Diego suspect that he wasn't so convinced as he had appeared to be, especially as De Soto ignored Diego's inclusion of him among the witnesses.
"I believe it's the product of a blow to his head, not unlike the one that had Sgt Mendoza believing he was a bandit named Martinez," Diego said, glad to be given the opportunity to give the explanation he'd devised, reasonably sure that the first part was true, before launching into the part made up out of whole cloth. "He'd banged his head on the fireplace today, and I ended up spending a good part of this morning looking for him, after I left him in his room while I went to make up some medicine for his headache, and then found him gone when I returned."
De Soto looked very skeptical. "So you're saying that your father after having gotten a blow to his head had time to somehow make up a Zorro costume, put it on, and then ride out to the pueblo all while you were stirring up medicine."
"Not exactly," Diego said, going for the part that he hoped would pass muster. "I do know that some time ago my father had a replica of Zorro's costume made. I believe it was around the time that an imposter Zorro was causing trouble in the pueblo. I think he wanted to prove how easy it would be for someone else to duplicate Zorro's look, but he never had a reason to use it— until today. I believe that in his confused state he found the costume and somehow conflated it with Don Quixote, to judge from what he said when unmasked and what Mendoza told me he called him earlier. Sancho Panza? My father's not in his right mind, and you know it." Diego looked at the sword that lay on the desk. It bore only the most superficial of resemblances to Zorro's sword. "This sword is my grandfather's, certainly not Zorro's." He again thanked whatever it was that had drawn Don Alejandro's eye to the family sword rather than Sir Edmund's blade.
The calculating gleam in De Soto's eye disturbed Diego. "But still, Diego, you must admit that this is not a simple matter of your father running about tilting at windmills. He's claiming to be a notorious bandit."
"While not in his right mind!" Diego insisted.
"So you say," De Soto said. "But my hands are tied here. I cannot simply let him go. And unless Zorro shows himself, I'm afraid I will have to make an example of Don Alejandro."
"Why?" Diego asked, then more cynically. "Actually this is yet another trap for Zorro, isn't it?"
"I'd hardly say that," De Soto said, as he dropped the pretense that he truly believed that Don Alejandro was Zorro. "However, either Zorro is man enough to try to rescue your father or he's spiteful enough to let a man be put in the pillory or flogged for having the temerity to impersonate him. Either way, I've got him."
"I have no intention of letting you use my father as bait for your trap," Diego said.
"You really have no choice in the matter. Your father has committed a crime in his right mind or not."
"Then he deserves a trial."
"Not here and now!" De Soto shouted. "Tomorrow, unless there is some notable change in circumstances, he will be put in the pillory for three days."
"We'll see about that," Diego said, turning to storm out of the office and straight back to the tavern, where Victoria was waiting for him, and he quickly led her out into her back garden where they would be more sure of not being overheard.
"What's happening?" Victoria asked, seeing Diego's faced. "He's not planning to hang him, is he?"
"No," Diego said, "but what he's planned might be nearly as bad considering the possible state of Father's health." Quickly he told her all that passed between them including the explanation he'd given for his father having a "replica" of Zorro's costume.
"I see," Victoria said. "How bad do you think your father is?"
"I don't know," Diego said. "I mean he's definitely delusional, but I'm not sure how long it's going to last or anything. And at the moment, I'm not sure whether his coming out of it would be a good thing or a bad thing, as I think you or I might need to 'remind' him of how he got hold of that duplicate costume. Actually, it would probably need to be you, as I think I need to get some additional help in case De Soto insists on carrying out the punishment."
"I understand," she said. "The people seem to be stirred up more than usual."
"A pity they weren't more stirred up when the Esteban brothers started causing trouble," he bit out. "They just left you with them."
"I could have taken care of them, even without your father," she said.
"I simply can't understand how sometimes they can be so brave and other times so easily intimidated."
"It's just the way people are," Victoria said. "In any event, Señor Calvillo is back now, and he'll be watching over the tavern."
"I need to send someone to get Dr. Hernandez, and then I'll make preparations to get to Father's lawyer in Santa Barbara. I'll see if Miguel can go. I believe he would do anything to help spare my father pain."
"I wish Felipe was here," Victoria said.
"So do I, but my aunt and uncle had only made it as far back north as San Diego in the last letter, and from what I understand, Sebastian and Isabel have encouraged them to lengthen their stay. But even if they managed to start north since then, they still are unlikely to get here for another week if not two. I know my uncle was in no hurry, and Felipe does seem to have been enjoying himself. Which is good, but it means we can't rely on them for help."
"I know," Victoria said. "I'll stay here in town, since you'll be leaving."
"I hate this," he said. "We haven't had to be apart since we've married."
"I hate it as well, but obviously your father's life is more important."
"Yes, and we're going to have to be careful to get him out of this mess," Diego said.
"I wish it was as simple as Zorro making an appearance and running."
"So do I, but really I think the alcalde will need something a little more firm, and we need to arrange a reminder of some kind that other eyes are watching him."
"And how do we do all that?" Victoria asked.
"At the moment, I have no idea," Diego said. "I'd better go and get things into motion."
"And I'll stay here and see what I can stir up before visiting your father later today."
Diego pulled her to him and gave her a kiss that would leave her in no doubt how much he would miss her before heading back inside the tavern to leave through the front door. He spent a few moments staring around the plaza trying to get a good feeling of what he could do. He saw several lancers spread around the front of the cuartel, clearly on guard duty. He suspected that De Soto had more scattered in and around the cuartel and decided to take a casual walk in that direction before heading to Dr. Hernandez's office to see if the doctor was back yet. As he passed the gates, he was surprised to see Padre Benites walking out, accompanied an unfamiliar priest.
He took the time to greet the padre.
"Ah, Don Diego, we have just finished visiting your father," Padre Benites said. "Excuse me, I don't think you have met Padre Dominguez, have you?"
"No, I haven't," Diego said. "It's a pleasure. Well, it would be one under better circumstances."
"I understand," Padre Dominguez said, in a rich deep voice. "Your father seems to have suffered some kind of blow to his head. I've seen it affect men's personalities before but not to such an extent."
"You have medical experience?" Diego asked.
"By necessity. Often where I've served there have been few with any medical knowledge, and I've been forced to learn what I can, where I can."
"It is good you are here. Our doctor travels quite a bit, and I am afraid we might not be able to get him back here soon enough if there's a problem with my father."
"I and my fellow travelers will be here for another week, so I will be glad to do what I can until your doctor returns."
"That is a relief as I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave to see about getting my father's attorney here to help untangle this mess," Diego said.
"Yes, Diego has also had some medical training," Padre Benites told Padre Dominguez. "He too has had to step in when there has been no other medical practioner around. It is unfortunate that we do not have an adequate number of doctors for the population of California. And even more unfortunate that many of them refuse to learn new methods of medicine as new discoveries are made."
"And also, that often the native people's knowledge of the healing properties of the indigenous plants is ignored as well," Padre Dominguez said, before turning to Diego. "I am a great believer in taking knowledge where I find it, no matter the source."
"I think that is wise," Diego said. "Now that I know that there's at least one person available to see to my father, I really must hurry home and make arrangements to travel before it gets too late."
"Yes, of course," Padre Benites said. "Don't worry. Your father will be well looked after as well as being in our prayers."
"Thank you," Diego said.
~Z~Z~Z~
Once he returned to the hacienda, Diego found Miguel and told him what he needed him to do.
"Go as quickly and quietly as possible to Don Luis Cristobal in Santa Barbara. Tell him that my father is suffering from a temporary mental affliction thinking that he's Zorro and that he's in danger of the law because of it. Do what you can to get him to come back with you as soon as possible. Tell him we'll compensate for his time and trouble even if things somehow manage to get resolved before he gets here, but get him to come all the same. Also, if you need someone to go with you pick one who'll keep quiet about my absence. I plan to head south to see if Uncle Horacio or Great Aunt Catalina will be able to help, but I don't want anyone to know that I'm going in another direction."
"I understand, Don Diego," Miguel said. "You can trust me and Joaquin. We'll make the trip and as far as anyone will know, you'll be with us."
"Thank you," Diego said. "How long do you think it will take for you and Joaquin to be ready?"
"Give us half an hour, Don Diego, and we'll be ready to go," Miguel said.
"Excellent. I'll get my things together, and we'll leave at the same time and separate once we're out of sight of the hacienda," Diego said, before turning and heading back inside.
He immediately went to Maria to see that they had some food to start the journey (she always had something for any men who would be out riding for the day) before heading to his room and throwing together enough to convince the men that he was actually going to where he said he was going.
Everything was ready very quickly and within an hour, Diego was parting ways with Miguel and Joaquin and heading back south to the cave. Knowing that he could not return to town as Zorro until after dark, Diego took the time he had to make needed preparations for what was ahead. Unfortunately, he wasn't at all sure exactly what that was going to be.
~Z~Z~Z~
The tavern was buzzing with people, all talking about the extraordinary events of the day, and debating whether or not Don Alejandro really was Zorro.
"Of course, he's not Zorro," Victoria said to whatever person was suggesting it. "We've seen him at the same time as Zorro too many times. He's simply ill. You know what that can do to a man. And it's not right that our alcalde is holding a sick man in his jail when even in his illness he managed to take down two notorious villains."
She repeated this often during the day, trying to turn the people's thoughts to this injustice, hoping to stir them into some sort of action rather than making them think "Zorro will come and fix it," though she suspected that that was precisely what was going to happen. But having seen for herself the guards that De Soto had around the jail, Victoria figured that a lively crowd was going to be a necessary diversion for whatever plan he had come up with. Still if Zorro was ever going to be able to retire, the people would need to stand up for themselves, and she was going to be the quickest to encourage it.
It was late afternoon before she was able to get in to see her father-in-law, as De Soto was being ridiculous, complaining about the number of visitors that he had already had that day, including Diego and strange padres, among others. Victoria merely rolled her eyes and reminded him that she was family. She really felt that he was just wanting to assert himself with someone, though as they entered, Mendoza indicated that what De Soto mostly wanted was to punish the Esteban brothers who were loudly complaining about Don Alejandro.
Victoria saw the two men in the corner of their cell holding their ears as Don Alejandro was singing in his own cell. The moment they saw Mendoza, they immediately called out, "Shut him up," and they were ignored, as Victoria went to Don Alejandro's cell.
"Father," she said softly, though she still was not used to calling him that, "are you all right?"
Don Alejandro only appearing to half hear her came to the cell bars. "Ah, my dear, to look at your radiance is to be rejuvenated by the sun itself."
She tried not to shake her head at his over-exuberant compliment. "Father, how are you feeling?"
"Ashamed that I have failed my lady by succumbing to the dark powers. But be of good cheer, Antonia. I shall prevail."
"I'm Victoria," she said, "your son Diego's wife. Please, try to remember..."
"Oh, I do remember. All of it, the glorious quest, in the name of my lady. Will you tell her of my deeds if I am unable?"
"What lady?" she asked.
"My lady Dulcinea, of course," he said.
Victoria raised a brow as it took her a moment to make the proper connection from the name of Don Alejandro's horse to that of Don Quixote's imaginary love.
"Of course I will, Father," Victoria said. "But I need you to concentrate on getting well. Diego has told the alcalde about how you got the copy of Zorro's outfit, even if you can't remember that now, but he's still insisting on punishing you. Please try to remember."
"Ah, you believe I am under an enchantment, my dear. I can hardly say if it is anything other than the enchantment of my lady, but do not fear, for Zorro always prevails in the end. Is it not so?"
Victoria realized that she was doing no good and simply said, "Of course, Father. Zorro will prevail."
~Z~Z~Z~
Zorro slipped into the pueblo very quietly, finding his way to the roof of the chapel armed with his night vision glass, though it wasn't of much use in observing the cuartel which was disturbingly well lit and he could see lancers set all around it. De Soto was clearly taking no chances. He wanted to force Zorro to surrender. However, Zorro wasn't ready to leave just yet. He needed to form a plan and he was invisible from his location so he took his time and watched though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. After a time he saw a couple of priests exit the cuartel. One was Padre Dominguez; the other was unknown to him. He wondered that he hadn't asked how many priests were visiting. Obviously, at least two, possibly more, and De Soto was in many ways an oblivious man. He would very likely pay very little attention to the priests. He'd see the robes and ignore the man. Was that not part of why Zorro's disguise worked? People only looked at the outfit and the attitude and not really the man underneath the mask.
Moving over the roof, he looked down into the garden and saw Padre Benites and a couple of other unknown priests apparently conferring over something, and they were soon joined by Padre Dominguez and the other strange priest. Zorro took note that two of the men were quite tall, which was all to the good. De Soto would be unlikely to notice another tall priest. As the pieces of his plan fell into place, Zorro crept down and worked his way toward the newspaper office.
Considering how well he knew the place, it was easy to get inside without anyone being the wiser. Making it over to the desk, he removed some paper and his pen and ink before carrying them and a candle over to the darkest corner of the room. Lighting the candle, he set to work to write Victoria a note that would tell her enough of what he needed from her while seeming relatively innocuous to anyone else who might stumble on it. After all, what could be more natural than a young bridegroom writing his bride a letter when forced to go away. It took longer than he liked to be satisfied that he had not said either too little or too much, but then everything was very quiet when he finally sealed the letter and crept back out.
He quietly slipped back into the tavern kitchen, the way he'd gone in any number of times before. However, this time it seemed both familiar and strange as if he shouldn't be here. He'd been careful to make sure that the tavern was quiet and no one was in either the kitchen or the main room, as he didn't want to bring any particular suspicion on his wife, as things were bad enough, and he didn't want De Soto getting any ideas.
He slipped into the pantry and found the place where Victoria concealed her journal and took a moment to check it to see if she'd left any message to him. He lit another candle and saw that she'd written down what happened when she visited his father earlier. So he was still in a befuddled state but otherwise no change. Zorro slipped his own letter into the book and replaced it back in its hiding place, before blowing out the candle and returning to the kitchen. He moved one of Victoria's pans to the table and placed it so the handle was pointing towards the pantry. That should be subtle enough, but get his point across.
That takes care of the message, he thought and looked down at his clothes. Now, for a different sort of disguise.
~Z~Z~Z~
Victoria was the first up in the morning and headed straight for the kitchen once she was dressed. The moved pan sent her checking her journal where she found Diego's letter and opened it straight away.
Dearest Victoria,
I regret very much the business that takes me away from you, and I wish that you could have accompanied me, but I know you agree that one of us should remain to see to my father's health and safety. I am not sure whether the law or the influence of family will help, but I must try, and I don't expect that I will be able to return for a couple of days. By then matters may be either resolved or worse, and I trust you to do what you can. I believe that if nothing else, public opinion may help deter or shorten any punishment, and if anyone can stir up people, I believe you can. Please see if you can get as strong a protest as possible before any punishment takes place, but if nothing else, let our alcalde feel the pueblo's disapprobation as strongly as possible if he attempts to carry out his threats. Also, if possible see that my father has as much spiritual comfort as possible. In his state, I am not sure who might provide the best comfort to him.
I will not be happy until once again I am home and in your arms.
With all my love,
Diego
Victoria considered the words carefully. There was nothing much more than what he had said to her before he "left." However, his emphasizing both public protest and spiritual comfort told her enough to figure out that for some reason he wanted her to encourage visits from more than one priest, and that if nothing else she needed to have a large crowd protesting when De Soto prepared to administer his punishment to Don Alejandro. Obviously these were meant to act as some kind of distraction for Zorro, if he needed one. Well, if that's what he wanted that was what he would get.
~Z~Z~Z~
Over a day later, Victoria was spitting mad and she had half the pueblo with her. De Soto was being absolutely unreasonable. She knew— absolutely knew— that he did not believe that Don Alejandro was really Zorro, and yet in his pompous overly smug way, he still pretended it was a possibility.
"If he's not, let the real Zorro prove it," De Soto had said. "Surely he should have come forward by now."
In aggravation, Victoria banned him and the lancers from her tavern until after Don Alejandro was released. Not that the lancers were currently all that eager to go as they were being made nervous by the increasing protesting crowds, half of which seemed to think that Don Alejandro was Zorro, while the other half believed he was not. Nevertheless, they were all protesting for his release.
Victoria had gone to the chapel and asked Padre Benites if he and his fellow priests would take it in turns to sit with Don Alejandro in the hopes that somehow they could get through his delusions. They were willing enough, especially Padres Dominguez and Marrón who both had some medical training the former a bit more than the latter, but Marrón told her that he had experience with people suffering delirium. That had given Victoria some comfort, especially since when she saw her father-in-law again, he appeared no different, still apparently considering her his niece and Mendoza his squire.
She had had no further word from Diego, though she had not really expected it. However, she missed him all the more for realizing that if she really wanted to see him there was a very good chance she would have been able to find him in the cave, yet she did not dare return to the hacienda. She didn't want to rouse any form of suspicion in her behavior; since with her husband gone and her father-in-law in jail, it wouldn't make sense for her to leave the pueblo. If there was anything that needed her attention at the hacienda someone would come to get her.
As the time approached for Don Alejandro's punishment, Victoria was starting to get anxious and made her way to the front of the crowd protesting in front of the cuartel. De Soto was looking rather smug, though she hoped he was feeling at least a little nervousness of his own. She had heard privately from Mendoza that the alcalde felt sure that Zorro would be too cautious to try to free Don Alejandro before the punishment started and since this was not a capital punishment, he would wait until he felt the lancers' guards were down before striking. Mendoza shrugged at the notion, but said that orders were orders.
Victoria did not believe any such thing, so she made sure her protests were loud and clear as Don Alejandro was led out of the cuartel to the elevated pillory that De Soto had hung from the gallows (to make it more difficult for Zorro, according to Mendoza). Most of the lancers were busy trying to keep back the crowd which was getting more and more boisterous.
Standing on the platform, De Soto himself seemed to be having his attention split between his prisoner and the crowd. Victoria saw a hooded priest walking up the steps behind Don Alejandro. Tall, possibly Padre Dominguez but she doubted it. No, definitely, it could only be one man. Deliberately she shifted her gaze to De Soto, almost willing him to continue ignoring the priest.
Happily, he was still too distracted by the crowds to pay much attention to any one thing, and since the crowd was doing quite a good job of making noise on its own, Victoria worked her way closer to the gallows, on the off chance that she might do something to help if necessary. The lancers didn't really pay her any attention, for which she was grateful. She managed to get close enough that she was practically in the shadow of the gallows.
De Soto, after some quiet words to Don Alejandro that even she couldn't hear, turned to face the crowd. "People of Los Angeles," he declaimed. "This is a town where justice must be swift and sure." He faltered as loud shouts and angry protests drowned him out before he managed to speak again. "We cannot let masked men usurp the processes of law, regardless of their age, position, or health." He pointed at Don Alejandro. "Whether he is indeed Zorro or not, ill or not, Don Alejandro must stand before the law for his acting outside of the law." There was a sudden brief respite before the yelling started again as the crowd tried parsing out De Soto's statement. De Soto stumbled on in through the silence. "However, justice can be tempered with mercy. Though no other Zorro has stepped forward to show himself and there is no proof that this man is not he..." There was more protesting, and Victoria almost threw something at De Soto for such a blatant falsehood. There was plenty of proof and anyone with sense knew it. De Soto raised his hands. "However... because there is some small doubt on the matter... Don Alejandro will not be punished to the full extent of the law as Zorro, but punished he must be. Hence..." De Soto slapped one hand back onto the pillory. "Hence, he is sentenced to three days in the pillory, unless..."
"Unless what, alcalde?" Zorro's voice came loud and clear from behind De Soto.
De Soto whirled around as Zorro pulled the hood off his head and knocked the two lancers next to Don Alejandro off the platform.
"Zorro!" De Soto yelled, lunging towards him but instead found himself falling into Don Alejandro who had imposed himself between them. Before Zorro could separate them, Don Alejandro slipped backwards falling off the gallows while De Soto landed face down half on and off the structure.
Victoria ran forward to Don Alejandro, where he lay unconscious but seemed otherwise fine. She looked up to see Zorro punch De Soto and then half drag him to where the pillory hung open.
"If it was good enough for our previous alcalde, it is certainly good enough for this one," Zorro said to the crowd with a grin as he forced the groggy De Soto into the pillory, pulled up the collar and quickly fastened the padlock, twisting the key and taking it out.
She turned as she heard Mendoza call nervously from his position on the ground. "I hope you're not planning on me swallowing the key again, Zorro," he said.
"Not this time, Sergeant," Zorro said. "However..." Victoria watched as Zorro pulled back his arm let a gleaming bit of metal over the back of the cuartel. "I believe that our alcalde deserves a little time to consider his thoughts, while I take Don Alejandro home where he can be properly looked after."
Shaking off his confusion, De Soto started shouting as the lancers finally tried scrambling through the crowds, ignoring Zorro as he hoisted an unconscious Don Alejandro over his shoulder and carried him to Toronado. Victoria watched until Zorro was out of sight before returning to the tavern, where Señor Calvillo was standing just outside the door. "I'm returning home to look after Don Alejandro," she said. "Try to keep things peaceful here and send me word once our alcalde gets himself loose."
It took some time for her to get past the crowds and the lancers who were still looking for the missing key, though someone had managed to detach the pillory so that the trapped De Soto could at least move out of the public eye. Victoria took comfort in the fact that the alcalde seemed to have lost interest in Don Alejandro, and the crowd itself was just beginning to disperse as she made her way out of town.
~to be continued~
End Notes:
I know it's ridiculous that Victoria takes so long to recognize Don Alejandro, but that's part of the issue with masked hero stories, the reader/watcher has to be able to suspend their disbelief that no one immediately recognizes the man under the mask. In this case, I believe that it is still better than her inability to recognize Diego or even to think for a moment that Don Alejandro really was Zorro. However, I hope I compensated for that by the ease with which she picks up her husband's clues. I know I tend to write Victoria as being a bit cleverer than the series let her be, but I want her to be a help and partner rather than a hindrance to Diego in his work.
In relation to believability in disguises, strangely enough one of the few cases I've seen (and I do know that my experience with masked heroes is relatively limited in relation to all that's out there) where I actually have no problems with no one apparently being the wiser is Disney's Dr. Syn (played by Patrick McGoohan back in the 1960s). In his case, he had a full face mask, a costume that helped disguise his form, and a completely different way of talking and moving when in disguise. There is only one part of the serial where I thought a clever mind could put together the two of them and that's when he felt he had to lead a prison break himself and thus "blackmailed" the vicar into helping them get the men out. I've often thought that he could offer a class to some of the more obvious masked heroes on ways to better hide their identities.
I have to say that I was really annoyed with the original episode where De Soto apparently genuinely believed Don Alejandro was Zorro despite the fact that many times when Zorro appeared Don Alejandro was standing if not next to him in plain sight. I know the man was quick to judgement, and he'd always go for the most obvious conclusion, but really this was a stretch even for him. I think it would have helped if there had been another case like "Silk Purses & Sow's Ears" where a government official was prodding him along.
However, in any event, what barely passed in the original episode would not work for this one, and I went for the other, and I feel better, cliche solution and that is that De Soto decided to use this as an opportunity to either trap or discredit Zorro. To be honest, I think that's the route they should have gone in the original, rather than make De Soto a delusional fool. In any event, I thought it would be better to go for a public flogging rather than a hanging. Still very harsh and with the potential of killing an already injured Don Alejandro, so as to justify the public protests. But here I decided it would be best to go with the pillory (during the first draft I used the term stocks, but I had the feeling that wasn't the correct term for what I was actually using and checked to discover that what I was thinking of was the pillory instead).
The thought of having De Soto locked in the pillory like Ramone was in "The Newcomers" was a sudden flash while I was stumped on how to proceed with the modified punishment and rescue, and I was struck with the thought of Mendoza wondering if he'd have to swallow the key again.
Also, not having read Don Quixote, and having only vague memories of Man of La Mancha, it was a little difficult for me to figure out where Diego would fit into Don Alejandro's delusions. After some basic searching of character lists, I finally picked Nicholas the barber & surgeon who was a friend who tried to cure Don Quixote, as the most likely choice, but that really is the product of about 5 minutes googling and no actual proper familiarity with the story which would allow me to incorporate references better (sadly, I wasn't eager enough to actually try working in reading Don Quixote to improve this tale; in this case it was either read or write and I chose to write). And considering that Victoria is now Don Alejandro's daughter in law, I decided to switch her in Don Alejandro's delusions from Dulcinea to Quixote's niece Antonia, just to cut down the slightly disturbing romantic language, which was bad enough yet understandable when Victoria was Zorro's love interest but would be so much more ick inducing if directed towards his son's wife. So forgive the rather weak references here. Maybe someday I'll actually manage to read Don Quixote and come back to improve this, but it would most definitely be after this entire epic is finished.
Another thing that struck me was the strange priest/friar Diego sees that inspires the idea— I mean it clearly is not Padre Benites (too tall)— but we never really see any other priests around, not that that means that they aren't there, of course. However, De Soto doesn't really pay much attention to either him or Zorro in disguise, so I thought it would probably be easiest for him to not pay attention if there were a number of strange priests visiting the area, so I had several stopping in on their way to another destination. And I thought it would also be convenient if at least one had some medical learning.
And of course, considering the other changes in the plot, Diego could not simply pretend to stay at home when his father was being punished, hence his apparently riding out for help. This really was so much more complicated that the actual episode, but then I suppose it had to be if De Soto wasn't suffering from delusions that he had the actual Zorro, something I still think is ridiculous and yet another sign of inconsistency in the character who could be at times clever (as when he realized that he hadn't been unconscious for a week because of a wet wine stain in "Rush to Judgement") and a completely delusional idiot here (or ridiculously obsessed with blackberries in "Mendoza the Malevolent"). I do hate it when a character is given the idiot ball for no good reason other than to make the plot move forward.