Author's Notes: Here we are at the last part of this multi-year endeavor. I never expected it to take this long to complete, for which I apologize. I am very grateful to all of you who have followed along and reviewed it over the years. Thank you. Thank you all so very much. Now with no further ado, the third and final part of "Discovery" and the very last chapter of Love Has No Rhyme and No Reason.
The Final Revelation
(The Discovery)
Part 3
It was a solemn procession into town. Don Alejandro rode on the front of the cart with Mendoza. Señora Risendo sat in the back with the body, a lancer by her side. De Soto rode beside the wagon with the other lancer while Diego was at the rear.
Several of the royal guardsmen approached as the cart came to a stop. One went to the covered body and uncovered the face, before turning to De Soto who said, "Corporal, I am now reassuming full command of this pueblo. You and your men shall leave here at first light tomorrow. You understand what I'm saying?"
"Sí, mi Alcalde," the corporal said.
De Soto pointed to the wagon. "Take the body away, please." He then spoke to the lancer who had ridden in on the wagon, who was standing near Señora Risendo. "And, Private, take this woman to the jail at once."
Diego dismounted and walked over to his father who had gotten down from the wagon, giving place to one of the guardsmen who started driving the wagon away.
Mendoza stood close to Don Alejandro, relief on his face, and said, "Gracias a dios. It's over."
De Soto dismounted his horse, handing the reins to a lancer. "Sergeant!" he barked. "Report to me in my office. We have much work to do."
Jumping to attention, Mendoza said, "Si, mi alcalde."
Mendoza turned and walked briskly toward the alcalde's office. De Soto started to do the same but then stopped and turned to speak to Diego's father.
"Don Alejandro," he said.
Lost in his own thoughts, it took a moment for Don Alejandro to respond. "Hmm?"
"I had no idea he was your son," De Soto said.
"None of us did," Don Alejandro said. "But you also saved a son of mine. And that I will never forget."
"Nor I," Diego said, though he found it hard to be entirely grateful for the way his life had been saved.
"Well..." De Soto said, awkwardly. "If you'll excuse me, I have a compelling need to see Padre Benitez."
"Of course," Don Alejandro said. "But I would like your permission to speak with Señora Risendo, as there are still questions that I would like to try to get the answers to."
De Soto paused as if he were trying to figure things out, then said, "Yes, certainly. Just speak to Mendoza." Then he walked off toward the chapel.
"Father, why do you want to speak to the señora?" Diego asked.
"I would like to try to find out the truth about what happened to Graciela," Don Alejandro said. "Something more than those bare details. And maybe be sure that she hasn't any further accomplices to her vengeance." He sighed and then shook his head. "I just don't know."
Diego put his hand on his father's shoulder. "You should let me go with you," he said. "The lady might be more inclined to speak loosely if she has an audience to show off to."
"You might be right," Don Alejandro said. "It's hard to understand a mind that..." He was clearly struggling to find the right words, "warped and diseased. And to think that she was Graciela's sister, who was truly one of the kindest, gentlest souls who ever lived."
Diego was curious about who Graciela truly was to his father, but he kept himself from asking. It was his father's business not his own, though he imagined that he would be hearing a twisted version of the story from the madwoman in the jail. The name del Castillo seemed vaguely familiar to him at the moment. But he couldn't remember from where. Possibly one of his father's old stories? It didn't really matter. He had his doubts that anything good could really come from speaking to Señora Risendo. Not even the truth, or whatever version of the truth that the señora believed. He looked speculatively toward the alcalde's office. Perhaps there might be something among the baggage that Gilberto and Señora Risendo brought with them that might shed more light on the matter than anything they might learn from the woman herself. He would see later.
He followed Don Alejandro as he walked towards the alcalde's office. He felt hollow at the moment. The excitement of the rapidly unfolding events of the day had finally worn off and now he just felt tired and unfocused. He wanted to go home to his wife and perhaps try to forget everything that had happened for a little while at least. Regardless of how he felt, he knew this was important to his father and he needed to be there.
When they entered the office, Mendoza was locking the door to the jail. "Oh, Don Alejandro, I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. What can I do for you?"
Don Alejandro fidgeted with his riding gloves for a moment before answering. "I would like to speak with Señora Risendo. The alcalde gave his permission."
"He did?" Mendoza sounded surprised.
"Yes, Sergeant," Diego said. "Though you can ask him if you wish."
"No, that won't be necessary," Mendoza said. "I know you wouldn't lie to me. So are you both going in or just you, Don Alejandro."
"Both," Don Alejandro bit out. "Diego can keep me from throttling her."
"He's not serious, of course," Diego said.
"Yes, I am," Don Alejandro replied with a grim smile. "You could certainly manage to stop me if you tried hard enough. Now can we see her, Sergeant?"
Mendoza shrugged. He looked exhausted, and Diego could not wonder at that, considering how narrowly he had escaped a brutal execution. Though he hated to bother him, Diego thought it best to bring up his request before they went inside.
"Ah, Sergeant," Diego said. "I also have a request."
"What is it, Don Diego?" Mendoza asked.
"I was wondering if I could have an opportunity to look through any personal papers either the emissary or Señora Risendo had, to see if they had any further co-conspirators or even wrote anything incriminating."
"Ah, well, for that I will definitely have to ask the alcalde," Mendoza said.
"I understand, Sergeant," Diego said. "He's currently at the chapel."
Mendoza nodded, then turned and unlocked the door that led to the cells. "Sepulveda's outside the other door if you need to be let out sooner... or if things get too heated."
Like my father actually trying to strangle the woman, Diego thought, but said nothing as he followed his father through the door. Whatever his father wanted to accomplish, he would stay out of the way unless circumstances demanded that he act.
Señora Risendo was sitting on the cot in her cell, back ramrod straight, hands folded in front of her. She didn't bother looking up as they entered. Diego moved to stand next to the door they came through, not particularly wanting to draw attention to himself unless it became necessary. Keep telling yourself that, he thought.
His father walked over to stand just in front of the door of Señora Risendo's cell. For nearly a minute neither said anything, a silent war of wills it seemed. Oddly enough, it was the señora who broke first.
"Are you coming to gloat?" she asked though she did not turn her head to look at him, as if that were some kind of victory in itself.
His father slapped his gloves against his hand. "No," he said. "I've come for answers."
"What answers could you possibly need?" she asked.
"The story of what happened to Graciela, for one," he replied.
"What is there to tell?" she said. "Her worthless husband died, and his supposed best friend came to tell her the news and left her high in the belly. I never got word from her until it was too late for me to do much more than to watch her die." She laughed, a small bitter laugh. "And the worst of it was that she was so absurdly happy. Happy…right until the end, talking about how it was the answer to her prayers, a gift to console her in the loss of her Rafael. And as she lay dying, she even wanted me to apologize to you. To you, as if you weren't the reason for what happened."
Don Alejandro stood stiffly. Diego wondered if he would indeed have to keep his father from doing something violent. Instead, Don Alejandro said, "Take comfort in that as you rot away for your crimes… if you can. But always remember that your sister would be horrified by all you have done in her memory." He turned his back. "Come along, Diego. You were right. There was no point in this."
They were almost to the door when Señora Risendo spoke again. "You know, I would have gone after you directly. I would have avenged my sister with my own hands, but I was sick myself for too long a time. And you know well enough what happened when I finally found you with another woman carrying more of your children." There was a sudden sinister smile on her face. "In the end, I may not have gotten my full revenge, but I certainly succeeded enough."
"Yes," Don Alejandro muttered. "Yes you did."
Diego glanced at the woman in the cell. She had turned her own head away. Diego wished he could feel something, anything, but exhaustion was starting to set into his bones, and he wished he'd never left the hacienda. He had a hard time understanding the madness and bitterness that led Señora Risendo to do what she did, much less to get past the idea of what his life might have been like with a brother as a friend and companion rather than a deadly enemy.
Sepulveda let them out of the cells, and they walked back outside. Don Alejandro stopped, head falling for a moment, before he straightened back, looking weary. "Let's go home, son," he said.
Diego looked at him for a moment. "Are you sure?"
Don Alejandro shrugged. "No, but I would rather go home and we can let Felipe and Victoria know what happened." Then he sighed. "And I can tell you what I know of the story."
"Father, you don't..."
"Yes, son," he said. "I think that I do. So much has been dragged into the light today." He sighed heavily. "And the day isn't over."
~Z~Z~Z~
Victoria was waiting for them when they returned, ready with fresh bandages and a meal of bread and stew. Felipe helped clean up both the men's wounds. And Victoria insisted they all sit and eat something. Though very little food was consumed, Diego did feel better with this small bit of normalcy, and his father seemed to as well, though he was clearly unhappy and on edge.
As they finished dinner, Victoria looked toward Diego, then after catching his eyes, flicked her glance towards Don Alejandro for a moment. She stood up and said, "Father, it's been a long day, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you gentlemen."
Diego saw how relieved his father looked even as he made a token protest. "There's no need to leave us now, Victoria."
She smiled and shook her head. "I have a feeling that now is a time for the men of the de la Vega family, not me." She went over and kissed Don Alejandro on the top of his head, then went and kissed Diego, before leaving.
Don Alejandro gave a sigh before standing up and walking to the library where he poured himself a glass of wine which he drank in a single gulp before sitting down.
Felipe stood awkwardly at the edge of the room and signed that he should go, but Don Alejandro spoke up. "No, Felipe, Victoria was right. This is for the de la Vega men, and you are as much a de la Vega as me or Diego. Come and sit. It's time to finish this as best can be, from what I can remember of the past."
Diego exchanged a glance with Felipe. "Father, whatever happened in your past, you don't have to tell us. You have a right to your secrets."
"No, not anymore. Not after they cost us so much," Don Alejandro said.
"You aren't responsible for Señora Risendo's madness," Diego said. "No matter what happened, her actions, her crimes are all on her."
"I know," Don Alejandro said. "I just wish I had known what had happened. Perhaps if I had visited after Graciela's death, if I had known..."
"There's no point in visiting if onlys," Diego said.
Don Alejandro gave a brief nod. "Still, I know I will always have regrets. And now, I think it would help if you told Felipe what that woman told us in the cell. My part is going to be hard enough afterwards."
"Yes, of course," Diego said, as he and Felipe both sat down. Diego gave a short summary of what had happened in town and everything that was said.
"And now for me to answer the questions you have most carefully not asked," Don Alejandro said. "I'll start from... not the beginning..." he paused. "More how things were. Rafael del Castillo was a brother soldier. We trained together, he and I and my brother Alfonso got into so many scrapes together. And he was married to Graciela, as gracious and good as her name. Forgiving to a fault, which is exactly what Rafael needed, and good hearted enough to extend her graciousness to his friends. I appreciated her goodness and how good a wife she made to my friend, but nothing more. I never coveted her. That much you should know."
"Father..."
Don Alejandro waved away the interruption. "Now comes the hard part. Rafael and I were soldiers, and as soldiers are, we were sent to fight. He didn't make it, while I was wounded, not badly, but enough that I had some leave and I used it to inform Graciela personally. She was crushed, and I think the more so since she and Rafael had had no children, so that she did not even have that comfort." Don Alejandro paused, his brow furrowed in thought. "My memories are a bit hazy, but I think that that was what started the two of us drinking. That and sharing memories of the past." He stopped again, lips tightening as he looked at the glass in his hand. He put it down on the table before speaking again. "Well, an excess of alcohol can lead to lapses in judgement, especially paired with grief and loneliness. And I think you can guess what happened. The next morning, I was wracked with guilt for taking advantage of my friend's widow, especially when she was the one to apologize to me... She was always too forgiving..." He broke off. "Then I had to leave, still feeling guilt both for the death of my friend and my actions there. War won't wait for any man, and I still had my duty to the king. I did want to keep up with her, but battle being what it was, the only news I got was her death, and that was final enough that I thought there was no point in learning anything else. If only she had written me before she became too ill. If only I had..."
"I doubt that it would have helped, as there was unlikely anything you could have done to change what happened. You might have met Señora Risendo, and thus known her, so she might not have become mother's midwife, but then she might have found another way to strike at you, through mother or some other way. There's no way of knowing, and you did what you could."
"Too much and too little," Don Alejandro said sadly. "And lost not one but two children." He looked up at Diego. "Thank God, it was not more." He pushed himself up from his seat. "I am grateful to both of you for listening to an old man but now I need to be alone. Good night, boys. I'm going to bed now." He stopped at the room's entrance. "And Diego, you can tell Victoria the story if you wish. I just didn't...well..." he shrugged and moved slowly, a man weighed down by grief and guilt.
When he left, Diego turned to Felipe. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You had a hard time today as well."
Felipe lifted his hands, then pointed towards Don Alejandro's room and then to Diego before signing, "Not like you two. I'm fine."
"I don't know that any of us are fine right now," Diego said, "but more as well as can be expected."
Felipe shrugged and signed, "At least it's done, isn't it?"
"I certainly hope so," Diego said, "but there's nothing else to do today, except get some rest and wait for tomorrow."
Felipe nodded slightly, but then gestured at Diego's arm, signing to let it rest, not use it.
"I think I can manage that for one night," Diego said with a grin.
Felipe looked skeptical but waved a final good night before disappearing to his room, leaving Diego alone.
~Z~Z~Z~
Victoria was sitting restlessly in bed, waiting for Diego to return. The book of poems she had picked up hardly keeping her attention. She had wanted to stay but had known that Don Alejandro would find it hard to say whatever it was he needed to say with her there. And she would try to hold her curiosity in if she had to. She sighed. She hoped Diego would come to bed soon. He had also had a rough day and had already worsened the injury to his arm. And for Ris— the emissary to have been Diego's brother, rather than the son of some de la Vega enemy. She had no idea how to think of it, and she had no idea how Don Alejandro was feeling.
When Diego entered their bedroom, Victoria was glad to put aside her book.
"How is your father?" she asked.
Diego shrugged. "I'm not sure. He's had a lot of shocks today."
"And how are you?" she asked, as she got out of bed to help him undress. She had no desire for him to strain his arm any further.
"I'm not sure either," he said. "To think that Gilberto Risendo was my brother, and not just a monster come to destroy us..."
Victoria rested her hands on his chest for a moment. "And if things were different, he could have been a companion instead of an enemy."
"So many things could have been different with a brother, and an elder at that," Diego said.
True, Victoria thought, though he could have been a rival or an obstacle just as much as a help depending on how much of his ambition and evil were a part of who he was rather than how he had been raised. But that was not something that either Don Alejandro or Diego needed to hear when it would make no difference. After all that the emissary had done, it was hard to imagine the man who had behaved so cruelly as anything other than a villain. He could just as easily have become the wastrel heir who was a trial for his father. Not that Don Alejandro would have simply allowed such behavior. And she mentally shook those thoughts away. It wasn't the time. She carefully eased Diego's shirt off his injured arm.
"Can you tell me what happened with Señora Risendo?" she asked.
Diego sighed, as he picked up his nightshirt with his good arm. "Yes, and my father gave me permission to tell what he shared about her sister as well."
Victoria helped him pull the night shirt on. They didn't say anything else until they both climbed into bed and were comfortable. Then Diego told her the parts of the story she hadn't heard yet. It was hard for her to truly take in.
Yes, she could understand grief. Her life had had so much in it. And yes, she could understand feeling a need for vengeance. That was what had taken her father away after her mother had been unjustly killed. But to do what Ynez Risendo did. To take it that far and to steal a child. A baby just born. And then poor Graciela del Castillo. To lose a husband and then what followed... up unto having a sister who felt compelled to avenge her death when that was clearly not what she wanted. And Victoria suspected that the reason Señora del Castillo had wanted to apologize to Don Alejandro was because she felt that it was she who had taken advantage of him in her grief and desire for a child. Victoria moved one hand over her own midsection for a moment. So much to hope and so much to lose.
"All that much hatred and rage," Victoria said. "To go so far..." She leaned into Diego's embrace. "I think she had to have been a bit mad before her sister's death. Her... plan, if you can call it that, it doesn't really make any sense."
"I don't understand it either," Diego said. "And I doubt I ever will." His brow furrowed a moment then he looked down at Victoria. "At least I hope I never will."
"Maybe there's nothing to understand," Victoria mused. "Perhaps that's the way it is with madness. It is because it is. No," she stroked her fingers lazily across his chest, "I think you're too good a man to understand something so diabolical."
"Perhaps," he replied. "I'm trying to just be glad I came out of it alive and that I still have the important things in my life." He kissed the top of Victoria's head. "And I'm glad to have what's most important here with me right now."
~Z~Z~Z~
Diego woke late the next morning. He hadn't thought he'd be able to sleep, but apparently, all the action had caught up with him at last, though now his head was pounding and his arm was throbbing. Carefully opening his eyes, he looked around and saw Victoria had left a pitcher of water and tincture of willow root next to the bed. He sat up slowly before pouring out the water and adding the tincture to it.
As the bitter liquid slid down his throat, Diego heard the door open. Turning his head, he saw Felipe's head appear around the corner.
"What is it?" he asked.
Felipe signed that he had just returned from the pueblo and saw the soldiers leave.
"You're sure about it?"
Felipe nodded and putting a hand to his ear indicated he'd heard them talking about wanting to get back and out of this—he stopped and with a grin signed "cursed pueblo."
"I take it there were probably a few more colorful words there," Diego said, wryly.
Felipe nodded, then signed that De Soto was coming to the hacienda to speak to Don Alejandro and bring some papers, though Felipe seemed a bit unsure about that last bit or rather De Soto was vague about it.
"Papers?" Diego said, thinking aloud. "I wonder if those are what I was asking Sergeant Mendoza about."
Felipe shrugged and then indicated that it appeared De Soto also intended to ask Don Alejandro for a favor of some kind.
"Curious," Diego said. "If De Soto wants a favor from my father it's probably a big one." Diego pushed himself off the bed. "I can hardly wait to see what it is."
He turned to get dressed. As he reached for his shirt, the throbbing in his arm turned to sharp pain. Diego still managed to get dressed though it was a slow, awkward affair, including adjusting the sling on his arm. He smiled grimly; at least this time, he could pretend the injury was entirely from the fight with Gilberto. It was close enough to the truth.
As he made the final adjustments, he asked Felipe, "Have you seen Father this morning?"
Felipe, oddly, hesitated for a long moment before he nodded and signed that he had seen him both before and after he got back from the pueblo.
"So he's already expecting the alcalde's visit," Diego said.
Felipe nodded and added Victoria knew as well.
"It seems I'm the one who is late to everything today," Diego said with a wry smile before clapping a hand on Felipe's shoulder. "It makes a change. And our lives have certainly had many of those lately."
Felipe looked at him, eyes wide.
"Don't mind me," Diego said. "We've had a hard time lately, and maybe what we all need is a rest."
Shrugging with a slight smile, Felipe left the room ahead of Diego.
Diego entered the library to see Victoria and his father sitting across from each other at the chess board.
His father was smiling as he moved his piece. "I can't believe Diego never told you that story," he said. "It was the first time he ever beat me."
Victoria looked up and saw Diego and Felipe. She smiled back. "Well, you de la Vegas are such a modest bunch; you never boast of your achievements."
"True, true," Don Alejandro replied lightly. "We know we're good. No need to shamelessly point it out."
"Yes, best to let our actions speak for us." Diego said.
"Even when the message isn't obvious?" Victoria asked, teasingly.
"Especially then," he replied, as he reached her side. "It keeps our mystery alive." He lifted her hand and bowed over to kiss it.
"Good to see you awake, son," Don Alejandro said. "How's your arm this morning?"
"Well enough all things considered," Diego said. "And how are you, Father?"
"Fine, just fine," Don Alejandro said. "In fact, even better now."
"Now?" Diego and Victoria asked together.
"Yes. You see, I've come to a decision. One that's been a long time in the making, too long."
"What is it?" Victoria asked.
"Well," Don Alejandro began, when there was a knocking on the door. He immediately sighed. "It must be the alcalde. My news can wait until he's gone," Don Alejandro said as he pushed himself up out of his chair and crossed over to the door and opened it.
Diego heard the alcalde's voice as he made the expected pleasantries before he came in following Don Alejandro. He was holding a leather satchel under one arm, as he awkwardly greeted the rest of them.
"Won't you sit down?" Don Alejandro offered.
"Ah, no, thank you," De Soto said. "I don't want to take much of your time today, Don Alejandro." The alcalde shifted uncomfortably for a moment before moving the satchel to where he could unstrap it. "Mendoza told me about your request, Diego, so I went through the papers the Emissary had with him as well as those of Señora Risendo. All the official documents, I sent along with the Royal Guardsmen this morning, but...since he was actually Don Alejandro's son, I thought it best to bring the rest of what I found here. There's what appears to be a journal, but it's in some kind of code, which you might be able to decipher, Diego. And there are some letters. I didn't bother going through them, but I thought that if you were to find anything relevant to their conspiracy or other misdeeds, you could bring them to me. It would be... helpful in any... inquiries... into the unfortunate incidents here."
"Yes, of course," Diego said, reaching out to take the papers with his good arm, though Felipe ended up taking them and putting them on the desk.
"I hope...I can count on you to speak up in my defense," De Soto said and quickly added, "If it comes to that."
"Certainly," Don Alejandro said. "You did save Diego's life, and I told you I would not forget it."
"Uh, yes," De Soto said, "I wouldn't doubt it." He looked around awkwardly again. "And speaking of recent events," he coughed, "there is some news that I thought I should give you before the rest of the pueblo."
"What is it?" Don Alejandro asked impatiently.
"Well, not really news," De Soto said, clearly hedging a bit. "More like...probability, though since rumors run rampant around here, I thought I should tell you."
"Well?" Don Alejandro prompted again.
"I sent some men to Diablo Canyon to see what, if anything, had occurred there," he said.
"And?"
De Soto took a deep breath. "There was a massive rockslide of some kind, and my men found Zorro's cape among the rubble. No body, but it would take a massive effort to dig through all that."
"Are you trying to say that Zorro is dead?" Don Alejandro asked incredulously.
Diego stood frozen. That was not something he had expected or even thought about. So much had happened that he had mostly forgotten about the incident in the canyon.
"It looks like it," De Soto said, and Diego wasn't sure if he actually believed Zorro was dead or was just hoping for it. In any event, it was obvious to every person in the room that he was trying not to look gleeful at the thought of his nemesis being gone for good.
"Zorro... dead..." Victoria said in a voice that sounded to Diego more like she was trying not to believe it rather than she knew full well that it was not true.
"I'm sorry, Señora," De Soto said. "But it seems that the Emissary managed to kill the Fox after all."
"We can only hope that things are not as they appeared," Diego said, evenly, not quite sure what the right tone was for this, as a small but growing part of his mind was wanting to embrace the idea that Zorro had died.
De Soto almost visibly stopped himself from saying anything about his feelings for Zorro when he gave a slight shrug, and said, "Yes, well. I will not keep you any longer. There's a lot that needs to be done in the pueblo now."
"Yes, yes, of course," Don Alejandro said almost absent-mindedly. "We wouldn't want to keep you from your duties."
Diego spoke up. "And I will let you know if I find anything among these documents that would be of any use to you."
"Ah, yes, gracias, Diego," De Soto said. He turned to leave but stopped and looked back. "And...Don Alejandro...I'm sorry for all that's happened."
"Thank you, " Don Alejandro said, "We all are." He saw De Soto out the door, waiting a minute to watch him mount his horse and start away. He closed the door and returned to the library.
"Well, that was unexpected news," Don Alejandro said.
"Yes," Diego said. "I had no notion of anyone even going to check the canyon, much less coming to that conclusion."
"Still...it is an opportunity," Don Alejandro said. "A chance to retire Zorro."
"If Diego is ready to," Victoria said, looking at her husband.
Diego wished he could read her thoughts. "If I could be sure that Zorro would not be needed again." He looked over to Felipe. "It would be good to not have to spend so much time hiding."
"Well, no matter what happens to Zorro," Don Alejandro said, "it is time that we made a few changes around here."
"Does that have something to do with what you were going to tell us earlier?" Victoria asked.
Don Alejandro smiled. "Well, over the past few months, perhaps longer, I have been thinking of something I want to do...that I should do, but then kept delaying because I was not sure how it would be received or even if it would be a good idea considering the secrets this family has had to keep. But then I've also been thinking that, despite those secrets, the two of you have managed to start a life together...well," he now sounded very resolute," it's time to make something else official." Don Alejandro looked at Felipe. "This is something I have already discussed with Felipe, and well, I intend to make him a de la Vega. He has been your brother, Diego, in all but name for years, and it's long past time we made it official, and I claim both my sons." His voice hitched only slightly at the last sentence.
Diego could see Felipe looking at him with a little hesitation. Though Diego had often thought of Felipe as a son, he had also been a brother and a friend. "This is wonderful news," he said going to embrace him. "I can't imagine anything better."
"Nor can I," Victoria said. "Felipe de la Vega. Such a wonderful name. And I've always wanted a younger brother."
Felipe raised his hands but faltered for a moment as he tried to find the right words. Eventually, he signed, "I never thought I'd have a brother, and a sister, and...a father. It's too much."
"No," Don Alejandro said, "It's not too much." He put his arms around Felipe and held him close. "It's finally enough."
~Z~Z~Z~
Later that evening, Victoria entered their bedroom. Diego was still sitting at the desk by the window, bent over Gilberto's journal, now with a pencil in his left hand, writing laboriously on a sheet of paper. He had been working on this on and off through the day, in between meals and celebrating Felipe's official joining of the family.
Victoria walked over and placed a hand on his good shoulder. It took a moment for him to react. He dropped the pencil next to the journal and looked at the time on his pocket watch which was sitting on the desk.
"Oh, is it really that late?" he said, turning in the chair to face her. "I'm sorry. I finally figured out the code Gilberto was using for his journal. It wasn't really that complicated. It's now just a question of writing it out— although rather slower than I'd like." He shook his head a moment. "I haven't read too much, but there was so much hate and frustration... All that poisoning his soul." He sighed. "At least some good seems to come out of this. There's Felipe, and well, Zorro may be able to rest in peace."
"We can do what we can to see that the people become strong enough to not need him," Victoria said. Then taking a breath, she continued. "And I believe there's something else we can look forward to as well."
Diego's brow furrowed. "And what is that?"
"It's not certain yet," Victoria said, "and won't be for some time, but I believe... I'm almost positive that I'm... that we're..." She moved her hand to rest on her abdomen.
Diego's eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. After a long moment, he finally whispered, "A baby?" in a tone of wonder.
Victoria nodded, smiling. "It's not certain," she repeated, "but yes, I think we are."
Diego reached out to caress Victoria's cheek, a smile on his own face. "A baby. Our baby." He then pulled her down into his lap, his good arm wrapped around her. "Another member of our family to love."
"Yes," Victoria said, blinking back the happy tears in her eyes. "It's been a dream for so long, something I wasn't sure would ever happen, back when both you and Zorro were mysteries to me."
Diego said, "And then one special night in a windmill, you truly saw me, saw both of us, and everything changed."
"And with one poem," Victoria said. "Love has no rhyme and no reason. It strikes with a passionate fire, engulfing the hearts in flame."
"And only your cool, sweet lips will quench my burning desire," Diego finished, matching his actions to his words.
Before long, they settled into bed. It was still early but both were still exhausted from the events of the past couple of days.
Victoria eased up against Diego and put her head on his chest. For what seemed like a long time, he was quiet but eventually took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes, just thinking."
"About what?"
"It feels strange, the prospect of Zorro never riding again. It hardly seems real that I could finally have the chance to be just a husband," he smiled, "and a father. I don't have to be a hero anymore."
"Oh... my heart, my love," Victoria moved up until her face was level with his. "There's no such thing as just a husband and father." She kissed him. "And you'll always be a hero."
The End
End Notes:
Finally, we have reached the end of the series. There were times when I never thought this would be finished. I thank the readers who have persevered throughout this massive work in progress. While I am glad to have finished this project as I meant to, there is the possibility of my writing an epilogue at some point in the future, if there is sufficient interest in what happens to the characters after this. However, I am going to mark this as complete as any epilogue would be a final bit of frosting on the cake, so to speak.
And now for an explanation for why I made Ynez's motivations what they were.
Some time ago, definitely well before I started tackling these last four episodes, I was struck with the thought or rather question: Why did the show make Gilberto Diego's twin rather than an older illegitimate son? It's not like Gilberto was identical, the usual reason for an evil twin scenario, which the show had already done with Luis and Vicente Ramone (although that was a case of an eviller twin). Also, while as is pretty obvious I'm a great proponent of a chaste Diego, I am not even remotely a believer in a youthfully chaste Alejandro. He definitely strikes me as a man who sowed his wild oats in his youth.
And while I think the show strongly implies that Alejandro was devoted and faithful to Diego's mother, I really have no speculation either way as to what he's done if anything since he was widowed other than what we saw in the series (his long distance courtship of the Widow de la Peña in "Deceptive Hearts" and his brief reunion with Mercedes in "A Love Remembered"), since this tale has been more about the changing relationship of Diego and Victoria than anything else.
Also in the show, I never bought the vague justification for Ynez Risendo's frankly nutty plan (she was childless and bitter), but I thought that if she had borne Alejandro a son (one that he might never have even known about) and one that would not inherit over his younger yet legitimate brother, I could see that as a reason for entrenched hatred and bitterness and a desire for revenge. However, I did not feel comfortable making such a radical alteration to the premise (yeah, I've changed so much and yet this I balk at), so I decided to go with something along the same lines that still left Gilberto being Diego's twin: the idea that before Alejandro met and married Diego's mother (because I don't believe he'd have ever cheated on her), he'd had a brief affair with Ynez's sister, a young widow (a widow because no matter how wild his past may have been I don't think Alejandro would toy with a maiden), and circumstances separated them without him ever knowing she was pregnant, although obviously what I ended up with was more a one time encounter during a time of grief and too much wine. And just to be absolutely clear, there was mutual consent on both parts (they weren't that drunk, just drunk enough to lose inhibitions and make poor decisions); it's simply that they both ended up feeling guilty and as if they took advantage of the other: Alejandro because she was his dead friend's wife, and Graciela because of her grief and her hope for a child.
Anyway, Graciela's dying giving birth to a still born son would, I believe, be enough to raise the already slightly warped Ynez's hatred, and when she finally discovered Alejandro and learned that he was expecting a legitimate child, then her plan of vengeance sprang forth. A son for a son, thus she stole Gilberto and raised him in hatred. It's still madness, but it's madness with an explanation that makes some degree of twisted sense to me, and is better than me repeating the idea of a family blood feud and witchcraft that I used in The Fox and the Son of the Dragon, especially the witchcraft part which was mostly useful in dealing with the fact that the woman who'd stolen Alejandro's child appears to just walk away at the end which is why I had Ynez arrested here.
Even if she couldn't be charged with the kidnapping of Gilberto so many years before (I'm not sure what the law would do about that), she certainly should be able to be charged with conspiracy to murder and other offenses. And since I wasn't sure of the full range of those, I just left it with her arrest, and the reader can decide whatever fate pleases them best.
Now, about Don Alejandro adopting Felipe rather than Diego. That was something that always bothered me about the finale. Not that Diego would want to (though I thought it was not very nice to bring it up as a last minute save so that he could chicken out of telling Victoria and Alejandro the truth about Zorro). No, that he would want to was a natural, but that Diego would be able to wasn't so easy to swallow, and that was before I tried doing research on the subject of adoption in the early 19th century. I couldn't find anything related to Spanish law, but the only place that actual legal adoption seemed possible was in France and that was only with a married couple over 40 with no biological offspring. Elsewhere it was more of an informal process where the child would have no innate legal protection outside of things like wills and trusts being set up for them. In other words, it was more becoming a ward than legitimate offspring, though they could take the family name (actually name changes were pretty easy altogether, the legal standing was something else).
And then in the actual episode, when Don Alejandro hears the news, he says he'd have two sons, not a grandson, and at this point in the series, Diego and Felipe really are more like brothers rather than father and son. And so, since it seems like it would be easier for Don Alejandro to take on the legal role of father, that is why I went with Don Alejandro as being the one to want to adopt Felipe. I hope it didn't seem to come out of the blue.
Also, I hope that Victoria's pregnancy didn't seem to come out of nowhere as well, as she's meant to have conceived around the end of the "My Word is My Bond" story and is about two and a half months along by the end of this tale. Long enough to be more than hopeful but not enough to be absolutely certain.
Next, the reason that I have Diego writing with his left hand in the last scene was that I wanted him to be working on decoding the journal but then realized that his right arm would be too sore, and I believed that if Diego could be an ambidextrous swordsman, he could also have trained himself to be an ambidextrous writer.
And finally, I felt it was only appropriate at the end to go back to lines that gave this epic its title.
A big thank you to all that have read, reviewed, and followed over the years and those who have come late but read through this beast anyway. I don't think I could have finished without the encouragement of my readers and reviewers. So thank you all so very, very much. This is done. Actually done at last. And of course, even though it's finished, that doesn't mean that I don't want to continue hearing what others think of this massive tale.
