Author's Notes: Now for part two of the final story in this saga.
The Final Revelation
(The Discovery)
Part 2
"There I was," Señor Calvillo was saying to Sergeant Mendoza, "at the wall, the firing squad in front of me. I refused the blindfold, but in the end, I closed my eyes as they got ready to fire. Then there was a shot, but I felt nothing, so looked around, and what did I see but the bandit they called Old Coyote with the driver who had accused me of robbing him. The one who was the true criminal. He even returned our pay."
"Old Coyote sounds a lot like Zorro," Mendoza said.
"Sí, he was," Señor Calvillo replied. "He too was always masked, but then what smart bandit isn't. Maybe a bit more of a trickster (oh, the pranks I could tell you about), and he preferred gray to black, but still he was a good man at heart, whoever he was. And always there when he was needed." He paused. "So very much like Zorro."
Mendoza nodded his head. "Did I ever tell you how Zorro saved me from the wicked Colonel Palomarez?"
There was a loud snort from the corner where De Soto was sitting, brooding over an empty bottle of wine. Victoria picked up a tray from the bar and took it back to the kitchen. While she too wasn't in the frame of mind to listen to any more stories of "how I was saved from almost certain death by a masked man," she was more fatigued by De Soto's brooding and glares from the corner of the room, which was beginning to make her wonder just what he was contemplating. He was not one to take comfort in stories of Zorro rescuing men from death. Not when his own life was on the line, as they'd already witnessed. Would he simply run or had he some other plan in mind?
But more importantly what plan did the emissary have with this so-called truce he offered? It could only be a trap of some kind. And surely Diego would be well aware of it. He wouldn't just walk into it. Would he?
He might. If he thought he could escape it, he certainly might. But with an injured arm, he wouldn't be able to do it as easily as he might expect. And it wasn't as if Don Alejandro were fully aware of how badly Diego had been injured. They had somehow not mentioned it to him in all the excitement. But then it would probably not make much of a difference either way. Diego would do what he would. There was a stubbornness in the entire family. Herself included, she thought wryly.
Much as she wanted to rush to the hacienda or Devil's Canyon, Victoria knew she needed to remain in the pueblo for now. There was no way to know what would be happening in the next few hours but she was the only one there. Despite her impatience, she knew that she needed to remain in the pueblo to be ready to act, even if she had no idea what she was going to do.
~Z~Z~Z~
Air. He needed air, he thought as he regained his senses. The dirt was nearly choking him. Zorro reached out, twisting around his head until his nose was clear enough for a relatively clean breath. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear them of dirt, seeing flashes of light. Sunlight meant more air, even if it was filled with dust and the rocks pressing around him made it difficult to draw in a full breath. He tried moving. Not much luck. He was pretty effectively trapped, but at least nothing felt broken, as far as he could tell. How to get free?
Reaching out with his right hand, he felt nothing but air. Unfortunately, the lower half of his arm was still trapped so he couldn't get any purchase.
He tried shifting his weight but the rocks seemed almost to get heavier with the effort, and then he heard Toronado's neigh and felt a sudden thumping on the rocks above him. He felt something shift slightly above him. Then another hit and a bigger shift, as some of the rocks rolled off the pile. Zorro pushed up against the weight above him. Nothing.
Then he heard something. A thumping and scraping on the rocks above him. Toronado. It could only be Toronado. Bless that horse.
Come on, boy, he thought, not sure he could speak without swallowing more dirt. There was more pawing. He could feel the rocks starting to shift and fall. As the weight above him lessened, he pushed up. This time the rocks fell away enough so that he could climb out.
"Thank you, Toronado," Zorro muttered as he managed to stand up. He leaned against Toronado's side for a moment, taking in deep breaths of air. But a feeling of urgency overtook him. That trap for Zorro couldn't have been all of Risendo's plan. There had to be something more. He didn't know why, but he needed to get home and get home quickly.
~Z~Z~Z~
Victoria walked around the side of the tavern, needing some fresh air away from the smells of the kitchen and wanting a change of scene. She noticed a carriage had been pulled in front of the alcalde's office. Did it belong to the mysterious Señora Risendo? Was she going to be able to see what the lady looked like at last? Not that she expected it to help, unless by some massive coincidence she had seen the lady before, and that was highly improbable.
A woman exited the office and climbed into the carriage by herself before immediately leaving.
"No, that doesn't help at all," Victoria muttered to herself. All she saw was an old woman in fine clothes. She looked grim and determined, but that was natural after finding her son had been declared dead when he wasn't or if she was as wicked as her son, she'd have reason to look displeased as well. She wondered where the woman was going. To her son? Wherever he might be at the moment. She was tempted to follow, but her horse wasn't ready, and she wasn't sure whether it would be worth the risk.
She leaned against the wall. She still wanted to return to the hacienda and be sure that Diego hadn't done anything foolish. However, she wasn't sure that leaving the pueblo was the right decision at least not yet. She didn't know how long she leaned there with her eyes closed, but when she opened them in preparation to returning to the tavern, a flash of movement in the distance caught her eye. Taking a longer look, she recognized the fleeing figure of the alcalde, too far out for her to call to him. Coward was the word that came to mind.
That was it. Now she had reason enough to go home, but not before she let Mendoza know that his so-called commander had left him to face death alone.
~Z~Z~Z~
Diego quickly did up the buttons on his shirt. He'd headed directly back to the hacienda, especially when he noticed that the Emissary's trail was heading in that direction. But with Risendo believing he'd killed Zorro, it would be far better for him to appear without the mask than with it.
Dashing over to the peephole, Diego checked that all was clear before rushing up the steps and into the library. The first thing he heard was the clash of swords then his father's voice in pain, then he spotted Felipe tied up near the door. When Felipe saw him, he gestured frantically toward the door. Diego headed out only to see Risendo poised to stab Don Alejandro who was on his knees on the ground.
"Father!" he shouted.
"Diego!" his father called, tossing his sword to Diego who caught it and immediately used it to block Risendo's strike against his father.
Diego circled round to put himself between Risendo and his father.
"Can you stand?" he asked his father.
"I think so," Don Alejandro said breathing heavily.
"Go and untie Felipe," Diego said.
"But..." his father started.
There was no time for argument. "Do it!" he insisted. This would be difficult enough without his father in the way. Felipe would be able to take care of his wounds.
His father managed to get to his feet and pass by Risendo who seemed willing enough to let him go for the moment.
Once his father was safely inside, Risendo suddenly grinned and said, "I see. I see."
"You see what?" Diego bit out between his teeth before going on the offensive, attacking swiftly and pushing him back. They ended up locking swords at the hilts.
"You cannot let your father witness your skill with a sword because he doesn't know your secret," Risendo said. Without warning he punched Diego's wounded arm. "You are Zorro!"
Diego stumbled back grabbing his arm in pain, and realizing that one of his worst nightmares was coming true.
"Zorro received a musket wound in the plaza when he rescued Toronado," Risendo said.
Diego saw blood start to seep through the bandage on his arm. This was not good.
"You had thought no one had noticed," Risendo said. He lunged forward. "I've found you out, Diego!"
Diego braced his right arm with his left as he fought off Risendo's attacks.
"I left Zorro under a pile of rocks in Diablo Canyon," he said, as he struck. "And now you stink of cordite from the explosion." His sword locked with Diego's and he grabbed and squeezed Diego's wounded arm again, holding on to him. "Zorro and Diego are one and the same, aren't they? The enigma's solved. The secret is out!" He pushed Diego back before lunging at him, wildly slashing at Diego's head.
Diego ducked out of the way, and Risendo's sword hit the wall. Kicking out, Diego pushed his heel into Risendo's chest as hard as he could. Risendo staggered back several feet but managed to remain standing. Of all Diego's nightmares, this was the worst, an enemy uncovering the secret he had worked so hard to conceal and now that nightmare was coming true before his eyes.
His arm was racked with pain but there was no time to think of that. He raised his sword. "It will never leave this garden," Diego said through clenched teeth, knowing that he was fighting for more than his life now. And with that thought, he gave up trying to fight right-handed and shifted the sword to his left. There was no point in hiding the full range of his skills any more. He circled with Risendo, looking for his opening.
From behind, he heard his father call out. "Out of the way, Diego."
"No, Father," Diego said, anger burning through him. So many secrets in danger. He had to be the one to deal with it. "He's mine." He lunged in for the attack.
The swords clashed fiercely. Over and over Diego thrust and parried, partly hoping for Risendo to make a mistake but also trying to buy a little bit of time to try to think as clearly as he could as he still had no idea what he was going to do about the man knowing about him being Zorro.
The fight dragged on for what felt like hours. Diego could see that Risendo was becoming winded, that his strikes were slowing and did not has as much power as a few minutes before. At length, Risendo's sword dropped just a bit. It was all Diego needed. He thrust his blade down on his opponent's and spun the weapon from his grip while almost simultaneously sweeping his leg, sending him to the ground.
He pointed his sword toward Risendo's throat and froze, realizing that he could not kill a man while he was down and unarmed. It was not in him.
Unfortunately Risendo apparently knew it as well. He leaned up from the ground and said, "Go ahead. Kill me." He thrust his chest out, further daring him. At Diego's lack of response, he smiled smugly. "You can't do it. You don't have the courage."
"Murder is a coward's solution," Diego said. His mind raced, desperately looking for a solution. Risendo no longer had his sword but was still armed with his secret. Somehow there had to be a way out of this. One that did not require cold-blooded execution.
"You really believe that?" Risendo laughed and then threw Diego off entirely with what he said next. "I once told our father you have a lot to learn about the real world."
What? "Our father?" Diego asked incredulously. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his father and Felipe approaching.
"That's right, Diego," Risendo said. "I am your brother."
This was a step beyond madness. "Brother?"
"You sensed it all along," Risendo insisted. As impossible as it seemed, he sounded more arrogant that ever.
Ridiculous as well as mad. "This is absurd," Diego said. Was he still under the rocks, imagining all this?
"It's true." A woman's voice was the one to reply.
Diego turned to see an older woman standing under the archway of the courtyard.
"What Gilberto says is true," the woman said as she walked toward them. "I am Ynez Risendo."
Diego was surprised by his father's reaction. Don Alejandro closed his eyes and raised one hand to his head. "Ynez... Ynez Risendo."
"Father, you know this woman?" Diego asked. Was there any kind of truth in all this insanity?
"Sadly, yes, Diego," he said, looking at the woman. "Señora Risendo. I haven't laid eyes on you in years—since Diego was born."
Nodding towards Risendo, the señora said, "He was born two minutes before Diego. He is the true heir to your property. His real name is Gilberto de la Vega."
From his place on the ground, Risendo nodded his agreement.
Don Alejandro shook his head. "No..." He laughed without humor. "It's preposterous." Pointing towards Risendo, he said, "Look, I don't know who you are, Gilberto Risendo, and I also don't know the lies the señora has told you. We hired her. She was our midwife. A few days before Diego was expected, my wife had these suspicions about this lady. She could not have children of her own. She was an angry, bitter, and jealous woman." He waved his hand in dismissal. "Oh, enough."
Señora Risendo looked at Don Alejandro, hatred in her eyes. "You would like to think that, wouldn't you? It would make it so easy to dismiss your own sins."
"What sins, Señora?"
"Those against my family. My sister," she said. "Though as you did with me, perhaps you preferred to forget Graciela del Castillo."
"Graciela?" Don Alejandro asked. "You're her sister?"
"Yes," she said. "The one who was with her in the end after you rode off and abandoned her to her fate."
Don Alejandro shook his head. "I was back in battle when I heard that she died of a fever."
"Yes," Ynez hissed. "Childbed fever, five months after you left her."
From the ground, Risendo spoke up. "I am not the only child you rejected and abandoned. Not even the decency to mourn either one's passing."
Don Alejandro shook his head again as if trying to clear it. "This is all nonsense. I never knew anything of Graciela's condition." He looked down at Risendo. "I would have never abandoned any child of mine. And if you had been my son, no power on earth would have taken you away from me."
"If he were your son," Diego said, still unbelieving of what was being said, "he wouldn't have tried to kill you."
"He is your brother and he can prove it," Ynez said. "You have a birthmark on your inner thigh in the shape of a cross."
So she knew that, Diego thought. She was the midwife, not unexpected. Then he saw Risendo tear open his right pants leg to reveal an almost identical mark on his own leg. It was almost incredible and certainly hard to believe that they both would have the same mark. But it was impossible to believe in the similarity if there was no blood relationship. But it was more the stricken expression on his father's face that was enough to convince him.
"Very well," Diego said, flatly. "You are my brother." He had no idea what good it would do, though now at least he knew why Risendo had really come and why he had attacked the family. He looked over at his father who nodded his agreement.
Turning his head proved to be a mistake as while he was distracted, Risendo pulled out a pistol hidden in his boot. He was on his feet in a moment, aiming the pistol at Diego, who cursed his own carelessness in dropping his guard. He braced himself, ready to jump.
"Say goodbye to your beloved son, old man," Risendo said. "And I have one more secret for you. When I kill Diego de la Vega, I also kill..."
A shot came from behind Risendo, and a moment later he crumpled to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut. Diego knelt down by him, wanting to see if anything could be done. He could see De Soto entering the courtyard pistol in hand.
Señora Risendo ran to Risendo. "Gilberto!" she cried.
Don Alejandro ignored her as he knelt by the side of his newly revealed yet dying son. Risendo reached up his hand, not to the woman who stole him, but to Don Alejandro, who took his hand and held it tightly.
"Father," he muttered, then he was gone. Diego felt for a pulse, but there was nothing.
Stunned, Diego kept kneeling, hand outstretched, only looking up when he heard De Soto speaking.
"It was either Risendo or you, Diego," he said. "What else could I do?" He tried sounding sincere, but a little laugh, which Diego hoped was out of relief, bubbled up for a moment before the man tamped it down.
Diego looked back down at the body of the Emissary, taking the time to make sure that this time the man was truly dead. Not that there was much doubt considering where he was shot. Ynez Risendo stayed kneeling next to the body.
"Alcalde," Don Alejandro said, in a hollow sounding voice, "You'd best send a message to the pueblo. Get some of your men here to return the body and to take this woman into custody."
De Soto shook his head a bit as if to clear it and said, "Yes, of course, but I'll need one of your men to take it to the pueblo."
"Of course, Alcalde," Don Alejandro replied.
Señora Risendo still as death herself didn't react to the exchange, Diego noticed. Then he was distracted by the sound of another horse approaching the hacienda. He quickly walked out the gate. In the distance, he could just make out a lone rider, Victoria.
~Z~Z~Z~
All during Victoria's ride to the hacienda, she had been fighting a foreboding feeling. She wasn't sure if it was from the danger Diego could be in, De Soto's cowardly retreat, or the mysterious woman leaving the pueblo. It became worse when from a distance she could see the carriage outside the front of the hacienda. Then she heard the faint sound of a shot, and her heart leapt into her throat. Panic began to close in around her and she could scarcely breathe until she saw Diego step outside the garden gate. She spurred her horse onward and was soon at his side. There was blood on his sleeve and her mind began crafting all manner of horrible scenarios that could have caused his wound to reopen.
"Diego, what's happened?" she asked.
"So much," he replied in a weary voice. "Too much to take in at the moment." His mouth moved dumbly, trying to form words before finally managing, "Risendo is dead…he was shot by our alcalde to stop him from shooting me and…my father…he…Risendo…" Diego fell silent for a moment before finally speaking through clenched teeth, "He was my brother."
"What?" Victoria asked, unable to quite understand what was going on.
"Risendo, he was my older twin brother all along, stolen from the family when we were born."
Victoria shook her head. "No. No, that makes no sense, that can't be true, that's madness."
Diego's head dropped for a moment. "I know how it sounds but it's true. It's all true. Ynez Risendo, his so-called mother stole him as a baby and taught him to hate us. Now…he's dead. He's dead. "
"Diego," Victoria said softly as she took his face in her hands.
"It didn't have to end this way," he said, seemingly to no one in particular. "It didn't…it shouldn't…I…"
He stopped at the sound of Felipe coming around from the stable on his horse, a paper clutched in his hand. He paused long enough to sign, "Message for Mendoza" before continuing on after Diego nodded his head in acknowledgment.
"Perhaps, we should..." Victoria paused still unsure of what was going on and unable to make complete sense of what Diego had just told her but knew that Don Alejandro must be hurting very badly at the moment, much as Diego clearly was. Such a shocking revelation. Out of all the possibilities that she had considered, this had not been one of them. How could it have been?
There was an eerie stillness as she entered the courtyard; the atmosphere was thick, an almost nightmarish quality. She saw the emissary's body on the ground, laid out straight, hands folded across the chest. Near him, a woman, who must be Señora Risendo, knelt, bent over so that her head nearly touched her knees, shoulders shaking, but no sounds coming from her. Near her, De Soto stood, a pistol held loosely in his hand, somewhat haphazardly pointing in the direction of the woman, as if he wasn't entirely sure whether she was a danger or not.
Don Alejandro appeared from the house carrying a white sheet folded over his arm. He looked drawn and worn. Victoria crossed quickly to him.
"Father," she said softly.
Pulling her into a hug, he said, "Did Diego tell you?"
"About the emissary being your son?" Victoria felt him nod, before he stepped back. "I am so sorry. I can't imagine how you must be feeling now."
He sighed, looking down at the sheet in his hands. "I hardly know myself. I gained a son…" his voice faltered a bit, "and then lost him…all within minutes. A son who had been trying to destroy me up until…the end." He looked over at the woman on the ground, anger in his expression. He grasped the sheet tightly in his hands.
Victoria reached out towards it. "Here, let me help with this," she said.
Don Alejandro shook his head. "No, I should do it," he said, looking down. He took a deep, ragged sounding breath. "He was… my son."
The woman on the ground looked up at Don Alejandro, hatred in her eyes. "He was more my son," she spat.
"You stole him from his mother and me," Don Alejandro said. "Took him from a family that would have loved him and cared for him. Taught him to believe us an enemy. And for that…" he shook with rage, "for that I will never forgive you!"
The woman stood up. "I am not the one to require forgiveness. I was merely balancing the books. My only regret is that Gilberto did not succeed in taking everything from you as you did from me."
"Thank you, madam," De Soto's voice broke in. "You are certainly making my job an easy one with your confession."
Señora Risendo hummphed. "What does it matter?" she asked. "What does any of it matter?" She turned her back and stepped towards the courtyard wall behind her.
Victoria looked over at Diego who was leaning against the archway. He gave the merest hint of a shrug. Don Alejandro glared at the woman's back before finally covering the body with the sheet. He stepped away, moving to a point halfway between Diego and the body. Victoria looked at both men before stepping over to Diego, reaching out to take his hand.
Diego closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back against the wall, feeling his wife's hand in his own. He should be doing something, anything, but what was there left to do? His father stood apart, silenced by the horrors of the day. He too didn't understand it. The man who had gotten under his skin, who had threatened his family, had been family, poisoned against them so strongly that his last act had been to try to kill his brother. What a waste. As he stood, trying to bring himself to do something, he could hear the sound of riders approaching.
Mendoza came rushing in to the courtyard, coming to a stop near the covered body. "Madre de dios. Alcalde, is it true? Really true? Not a mistake this time?"
De Soto spoke wearily. "Yes, it is true. I made sure of it, this time."
Diego stepped forward. "There is no doubt," he said.
"Was he really trying to kill you, Don Diego?" Mendoza asked. "The alcalde's note didn't tell me much."
"Yes, he was," Diego said. "My father as well." He could see Felipe had returned and was signing with Victoria near the gate.
Mendoza shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this."
"Nor can I," Don Alejandro interjected. "Take care with the body. He was… he was a de la Vega."
"Of course, Don Alej— what!" Mendoza exclaimed.
"Worry about it later, Sergeant," De Soto commanded. "The important thing is to return the Emissary's body to the pueblo and send the Royal Guardsmen on their way." He stopped and with a glance at Señora Risendo, added as an afterthought. "Oh, and take this woman into custody for kidnaping and conspiracy to murder."
Diego managed to not roll his eyes at De Soto's priorities, but felt some relief that something would be done about the woman who had changed his family so irrevocably. He looked at his father whose face was drawn, his lips pressed together tightly as he watched the lancers picking up the body of the Emissary from the ground.
Walking over to Victoria and Felipe, Diego said, "I'll go with Father into the pueblo. You two should stay here. We probably won't be that long."
Felipe gestured towards Don Alejandro in query.
"I don't know, Felipe. As hard as it is for us to understand all that's happened, it has to be harder still on my father. But we'll make it through, all of us together," Diego said.
"Of course, we will," Victoria said. "I'll make sure there's something nourishing and comforting ready when you return."
"Thank you," Diego said and softly kissed her forehead. "Though I doubt any of us will have much of an appetite."
"Perhaps not," Victoria said softly. "But at least we can have the whole family together again at home."
"Yes." Diego looked toward the men who were heading back to the pueblo with Risendo's body.
Almost, he thought. Almost.
~to be concluded~
End Notes:
I'm sure any Disney Zorro fans will recognize that Señor Calvillo's story of Old Coyote is actually from a Disney episode "Garcia Stands Accused". Señor Calvillo is based more than a bit on Sergeant Garcia, and I wanted to work in a pretty strong reference near the end (though I had to change the bandit's nom de plume for obvious reasons and of course the location which is in Mexico rather than California). Old Coyote comes from an Aztec trickster god Huehuecóyotl which seemed to be a good choice, though I had also considered using the name Gray Ghost from Batman: the Animated Series. I almost used Garcia's disguising himself as Zorro in "Slaves of the Eagle", but I thought that was too light-hearted for the moment, so went with a more serious one.
Also, I almost cut out the identical birthmark thing, because frankly, I find it highly improbable that fraternal twins would have identical birthmarks. It reminds me a bit too much of The Court Jester where the infant king is identifiable by the hereditary royal birthmark, the purple pimpernel, on his backside. Ah, well, it is a trope, and I decided since the only purpose was to convince Diego and Don Alejandro that Gilberto was Diego's brother, that it would easier just to go with it than leave it out and try to find some other reason for them to accept the story.
I didn't change Gilberto's saying that Don Alejandro didn't know Diego's secret because I think it still works that Gilberto would assume that Diego had kept Zorro's identity to himself and that he (Gilberto) is special in that he figured it out while their father hadn't. And Victoria gets no mention by Gilberto because to him she has always been a means to an end not someone he'd actually pay attention to. He has serious tunnel vision.
Finally for obvious reasons, I have kind of mixed and matched pieces of the ending, as there was that gap (which I suppose in the episode relied on nobody really saying much of anything from De Soto's line after the death of Gilberto until his body is taken into the pueblo), and since all of the major possible revelations from the end of the actual episode have already been made (except for one which will have its own place).
One part left, and then this saga will finally conclude. Any and all response is greatly appreciated, especially since I'm wondering if the revelation of Ynez's motives works (there will be a little more about that in the last part).
