Just as the new Governor was making his way across California, aimed for Monterey, a certain elderly caballero was boarding a ship in San Pedro. He had made sure to leave all his affairs in order, should anything happen to him on the long journey ahead, and, leaving Victoria in charge of his estate, he headed for Mexico City, decided to return with his son, daughter in law, two grandsons and with anyone else he would have to move across the country, by force if necessary, as long as that meant that he would get to spend the rest of his remaining years in the same house as Diego.
ZZZ
Among his first actions after arriving in Monterey, Governor Sánchez sent, with the military couriers carrying the lancers' payroll, a letter for his father, to be delivered personally, and a decision to advance Sergeant Jaime Mendoza to Lieutenant. When the courier returned, almost two weeks later, informing the Governor that the intended receiver of his letter was on his way to the Capital, having left several weeks before, Diego knew he had no means to intercept him on his way there. In an effort to avoid being totally helpless about the situation, though, taking his lawyer's advice, he eventually decided to hire the same two men who had delivered his father the box, some months earlier, to go to Mexico City to protect him on his way back, so the two men rode south.
In the meantime, Diego and Miguel got into the habit of spending, at least, a few hours a day discussing how to better ensure the security of the territory and better training for the lancers. The reports from all over the state were appalling, every Alcalde, except for the one in Los Angeles, asking for reinforcements meant to contain crime, which was running rampant. As a consequence, one of the first measures adopted was for each garrison to send a few men to receive further training, while some of the Governor's lancers temporarily replaced them.
As for Isabel and Felipe, the former was spending most of her time playing with little Alejandrito in the internal courtyard of the Governor's Palace in Monterey, already feeling like home and enjoying being able to see her husband almost any time she wanted, while the latter decided to partner with his father's lawyer, Mariano Sada, joining his practice.
ZZZ
On a cold afternoon, some three weeks after their arrival in the Monterrey, one of the lancers brought news of the large-scale attack perpetrated just ten miles from the Californian Capital. The attackers, members of one of the largest gangs in the area, included six of the most wanted bandits plaguing the territory, and had left, in their wake, fifteen people injured and six dead, all newly-arrived Mexican settlers heading towards San Francisco.
Tired after three weeks spent sitting at a desk, Diego decided to accompany Miguel and his men towards the place where the attack had taken place and in search of the bandits, not bothering to even listen to the Commander's long list of objections to his decision.
When they arrived at the place indicated, they met with the sight of ten covered wagons, two of which were still in flames and a few other partially destroyed. About nine children and teenagers were fretting over the injured adults or crying over their dead parents. Diego felt his blood boiling at the scene and, after instructing his lancers to take the injured people and the children to his Palace in Monterrey, using some of the rooms there to improvise a temporary hospital, and have the doctor tend to them, he set in pursuit of the gang, followed by Miguel and his men.
About an hour later, closing in on a hill, some six miles east from where the attack took place, Diego signaled the men to stop and dismount, having heard voices coming from a meadow hidden between some trees. Leaving their horses behind, they slowly made their way towards the bandits. The sixteen thugs were sharing their bounty, consisting of several small bags of money and clothes, not even realizing they were surrounded until they found themselves at the wrong end of several swords and loaded muskets. Their number was, however, almost double the number of their foes, so, with nothing to lose, they decided to fight back. Nine of them engaged the lancers, two having been shot dead on the spot when reaching for their guns, and the other five attacked Diego and Miguel. One of them managed to superficially injure the Commander before being disarmed by the Governor with some quick thrusts of his sword. His whip in his left hand and sword in his right, the former masked outlaw then proceeded to disarm and knock unconscious three of the remaining men, while Miguel did the same with the fourth and moved to help his lancers, which were being outnumbered and were finding it more and more difficult to stay out of the way of the bandits' blades.
When the fight was finally over, the stolen goods were recovered with the purpose to be returned to the remaining settlers, and the bandits were tied up, place backward on their horses in a very Zorro-like manner, and dragged to Monterey to face justice.
On the way there, however, passing near the four abandoned wagons, which had been, just hours earlier, part of the Mexican caravan, but were left behind due to damage they had suffered during the attack, Miguel's Valiant stopped and refused to move from his place, suddenly attentive, as if sensing danger.
When Diego noticed the stallion's strange behavior, he turned back on Tornado and came up to Miguel.
"What's wrong?" He asked as his own stallion started acting strange.
"I don't know. He won't move." Miguel answered.
"They must be sensing or hearing something."
"I can't hear a thing!"
Diego dismounted and let his stallion free, observing what he was doing. The black steed moved his ear a little, as if trying to find the source of a noise and headed for the last of the four abandoned wagons, pawing at the ground near its middle section.
After an exchange of glances, Miguel steered Valiant towards Tornado and found the stallion obeying, while Diego hurriedly covered the distance on foot, stopping next to his steed.
"What's wrong, boy?" He asked and the stallion answered with some more pawing and a frustrated neigh.
Taking out his knife, Diego cut the cover on the wagon at that precise spot and looked inside.
"It's a child!" He told Miguel. "They were sensing a child here." He repeated as he reached for a little, skinny, black-haired girl, at least a year younger than Felipe had been when he had found him.
The child was in a bad shape and could barely move, let alone speak or scream. Diego took her in his arms and carefully mounted Tornado. Followed by Miguel, they soon reached the rest of the lancers, which had moved ahead, as ordered. Arriving in Monterey, Diego took the girl to be examined by the doctor, who was, at the time tending to the victims of the attack, while some of the servants were consoling and feeding the youngsters.
The old doctor took a look at her and managed to get her to regain her consciousness, for a few minutes, when he pressed a little too hard on her abdomen and the little girl screamed in pain.
"She needs to be fed!" He stated. "I don't think she has eaten properly in days! Hopefully, it's just a case of improper nourishment. We should get her to drink some milk!"
Diego asked for a glass of milk to be brought and managed to have her swallow half of it, only to have the toddler convulsing and throwing up a few minutes later.
"That's blood!" He stated with horror in his voice at seeing the mixture of white milk and blood which had been expelled from the little girl's stomach.
"That's what I was afraid of!" The doctor stated with a sigh and sudden resignation in his voice.
"What do you mean?"
"I have encountered this disease only twice before in children her age. The symptoms were similar and, judging by the state she is in, she has probably been ill for at least some weeks, thus she is in the final stage. There's really nothing I can do for her, other than alleviate the pain by keeping her unconscious until her time comes."
"No!" Diego uttered. "You…you can't just leave her to die!"
"She is already bleeding internally. I tried a transfusion for one of the two children I treated but it only provided him with a few more days of life. The other one died even faster without it. Truth is, we can try to feed her, we can even try a transfusion from one of her relatives, but I'm afraid that, at this point, we might just cause her further harm. "
"Can you…Do you know what is the cause of the bleeding?" Diego asked.
"I'm afraid not. I suspect a disease of the gut, but that is all I can do: suspect. I'm afraid this is out of my hands, Don Diego."
"Whose child is this?" Diego asked the other patients in the room. "What's her name?"
Nobody answered, all staring at each other as if they had never seen the girl before.
"She was in one of the wagons! Who are her parents?" He demanded to know.
"She is not ours, senor!" A woman finally answered. "Senor Bautista, the man in that bed…" she indicated towards a corner of the room where a man was lying on his side, facing the wall "found her and took her with him. We were north of Santa Barbara when we passed by the wagon she and her parents were in. They had both been shot and he decided he couldn't leave her there all by herself."
"Didn't he search for her relatives? Senor Bautista!"
"That man won't help you much, Don Diego!" The doctor stated, referring to Senor Bautista. "He was shot in the chest. I don't expect he'll make it."
Diego looked again at the little orphaned child and all he felt like doing was taking her in his arms and do his best to save her. So he did. Lifting her up, he carried her to the room next to his and laid her on the bed. Calling to Felipe, who had, meanwhile, returned home after a full day spent in his new office, he left his son guarding the toddler and went to his library, taking out all the medical books he had and returning with them to the room where Felipe and the little girl were.
"You take half and I take the other!" Diego stated, handing some of the books to his son.
"What am I looking for?" The younger man asked.
"Anything on diseases of the bowels and the stomach…What I know so far is that it is something progressive, and in the final stage seems to cause internal bleeding, since she has vomited blood. Not much, but enough. She also seems unable to retain nourishment."
After a few hours of searching through several heavy books, they managed to identify three potential causes for her symptoms.
"This one says a lump should be present." Diego stated, carefully pressing the child's abdomen. The little girl opened her eyes and stared at him. "It's alright, little one!" Diego tried to calm her, fearing the two strangers around her may cause her to start crying. The girl said nothing and allowed him to examine her belly until he pressed on her stomach and she again let out a cry, determining Diego to quickly remove his hand.
"It can't be that!" Felipe advised. "This states that the pain should be continuous and she only cries when you touch her in a certain place; near the stomach, I would say..."
Putting aside the book he was holding, Felipe took a volume in French, handing it to Diego. "French is not my forte, father, but I think you should have a look at this."
"Intense localized pain, nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding…It fits…infection of the stomach. That might be it, Felipe!" Diego stated, suddenly narrowing his eyes. "If it's an infection, I know how to help!" He stated, confidently heading towards his newly-installed laboratory and returning some twenty minutes later with a glass of what looked like muddy water.
"The roots?" Felipe asked.
"Yes." Diego answered as the child swallowed the liquid and, this time, did not vomit. "I think she could also do with some cactus tea and a transfusion might help her regain some of her strength. Stay with her!" Diego asked. "I will go make the tea and come back for a blood sample."
"How's the girl?" Miguel asked at seeing him exiting the Palace.
"The doctor gave up on her but I am not willing to." Diego stated.
"Do you need any help? Isabel is good with children and I can look after Alejandro."
"No, Miguel. It is hard to know what kind of disease she has and it might be contagious. I don't want to expose your son to it. You and Isabel should stay away for now. Maybe you can, however, help me with my official duties while I take care of her. We'll have to talk about that!"
Mounting Tornado, Diego made the most of the dimming light of the sunset and returned sometime later, just before nightfall, with the ingredients for the tea. Sensing it was foul-tasting, the little one refused to touch it, until Diego asked her to close her eyes and put two fingers on her small nose to prevent her from smelling it, then made her swallow a mouthful. As soon as she was asleep as a result of drinking the tea, he searched for a vein and carefully took a little of her blood to study it. Comparing the result with his notes, he discovered that he might be a compatible donor, so he spent some more time comparing his blood sample with the toddler's, but still hesitated, since the procedure was too dangerous and he wasn't sure he was right about his conclusions.
During the night, though, as he was keeping vigil, after giving her a second glass of the muddy water, the child's heart rate and breathing started accelerating and she started shivering, so, realizing it needed to be done, Diego took the biggest syringe at his disposal and used it to take some of his blood and insert it into the child's vein, slowly, watching at first for any reaction to it. In its absence, he repeated the process twice and the child's condition seemed to rapidly improve, her breathing becoming deeper and her heart rate slowing down.
Five days he spent keeping vigil on her, only going to sleep when Felipe forced him to, making sure to administer the root powder mixed with water three times a day, as the medicine-man had done with Miguel, and the cactus tea every morning and evening. The little girl took a while to start improving, but she was on the right track, every day growing a little stronger and more willing to accept food. Vomiting stopped completely only a few days later, but, by then, there were no more traces of blood in the half-digested food her body expelled.
Six days into his vigil on the little girl, Felipe made Diego take a break one morning, after finding him half-asleep on a chair next to her bed, so he took a coffee and headed for the courtyard, enjoying the fresh air and the distraction provided by Isabel playing with Alejandro.
"Don Diego?" A voice called to him from behind.
"Sergent…Lieutenant Mendoza!" He answered with a broad smile, at turning towards the lancer.
"Don Diego!" The good man exclaimed again and reached to embrace his friend.
"What are you doing here, Mendoza?" Diego asked, gladly, yet surprised to see him.
"The Alcalde sent me and one of the new recruits to accompany the men who came here for training and to return with the lancers carrying the payrolls. I was just about to leave when I saw you! But Don Alejandro said you were in Mexico City. He went there to bring you home."
"I know about Father. Unfortunately, he left before I could inform him I was here." Diego stated and turned towards Miguel's family, suddenly distracted by a high-pitched scream Alejandrito had let out when his mother caught him in her arms.
"Is that Dona Isabel and little Alejandro?" Jaime asked.
"Indeed, Lieutenant!" Diego answered with some surprise, but rapidly remembered Mendoza had always been one of the best-informed people he knew.
"It's a fine little boy, Don Diego!"
"Your Excellency!" A servant called to him. "The Alcalde of San Francisco is here for his appointment with you."
"I forgot all about him!" Diego muttered. "See him to my office, Abel! I will be with him shortly." He proceeded to instruct the servant.
"You…You are the new Governor, Don Diego?" Mendoza asked, in astonishment.
"I am…And the irony of it is not lost on me, Lieutenant, I assure you." He answered with a smile.
"So…It was YOU who promoted me?"
"It was long overdue!" Diego assured him. "Mendoza…I know you know about my no-longer-secret life while in Los Angeles. I hope there are no hard feelings between us…Despite some of my actions, I've always considered you a friend."
"No! No, Don Diego! Of course not! You saved my life!"
"I did what I could and I am quite aware you saved mine a few times, as well, for which I am very grateful. I apologize for your tunics though…Perhaps I was a little too fond of decorating them…"
"I guess you owe me some lunches for that, Don Diego." Mendoza smiled broadly.
"And it will be my pleasure to repay my debt the next time you are in Monterey. I just regret not knowing you were here sooner."
"Next time I'll be careful to let you know, I assure you!" Mendoza stated, delighted at the prospect of sharing some more lunches with his old friend, just as he saw the men he was supposed to escort mounting their horses. "I have to go, now, Don Diego. It was good seeing you!"
"It was good seeing you, too, my friend. Adios, Lieutenant!" The Governor uttered as Mendoza was leaving, then watched him mount his horse and wave his hand as a goodbye.
In a considerably better mood than he had been during the last few days, Diego went to his office to meet with the Alcalde of San Francisco, listen to his complaints about the new settlers and point out some obvious solutions to his problems. After the man departed, he returned to the little girl, whose side he no longer left until the following morning.
ZZZ
For over a week after finding her, the toddler didn't speak at all and Diego had already started wondering if she was able to, until, one day, she said "Fatha."
Felipe and his father were in her room, discussing the state of the injured people still in the improvised hospital, just one floor underneath them, when they heard her.
"Did you say something, sweetheart?" Diego asked with a smile, nearing her bed.
"Fatha." The girl repeated and it took the two men a minute and an exchange of confused gazes to realize she had heard Felipe call Diego 'Father' and had thought that was his name.
"My name is Diego." He stated. "And this is my son, Felipe." He introduced the younger man.
"Feipe?" She wondered and the two men chuckled.
"What is your name? Do you know?" Diego proceeded to ask her but the black-haired girl just looked confused.
"I don't think she knows, father!" Felipe stated.
"Maybe we should give her a name in that case. At least until Miguel finds her family and she gets her real one back."
"How about Elena? Like your mother?" The younger man suggested.
The girl's eyes grew wide at hearing the name and she smiled.
"Eiena!" She stated.
"You like it? Should we call you Elena?" Diego asked her and she nodded. "Elena it is, in that case."
ZZZ
"Have you found out anything?" Diego asked Miguel, some ten days after they had brought the girl to Monterrey.
"Not exactly! My men have found reports of three people shot dead in the proximity of Santa Barbara the day the settlers say they found her; two men and a woman. Two known cutthroats were later caught in the area and executed, but they didn't confess to those precise crimes. Among the three people killed, only one had relatives and the family did not admit to the girl's existence. They either don't want her or they truly have no idea where she came from, meaning she is probably the daughter of the other two. I asked Sergeant Solano to also make inquiries at the nearby farms, some thirty miles in every direction from where she was found, but they didn't bring me any useful information and there is no report of a missing child anywhere around Santa Barbara."
"So she has no relatives?" Diego stated.
"No. It appears as if she is an orphan, poor girl." Miguel replied.
"Keep searching, Miguel. At least make sure."
ZZZ
"What do you think, doctor?" Diego asked after the man examined Elena, who was already moving around the room, tired of being confined to a bed.
"I don't understand! This is incredible, Don Diego! She is well on her way to recovery but I don't understand how you managed to do this!"
"I believe it was an infection of her stomach." Diego stated. "I found the same symptoms described in a compendium published in France a couple of years ago. I have given her cactus tea and a concoction based on some roots I've got from a tribe south of Mexico City. I also followed your advice and gave her a blood transfusion."
"Whatever you did, it certainly worked. I hope you won't mind sharing some more information about these miraculous cures with me, Your Excellency. I'd like to be able to replicate the results, should I come across a similar case in the future."
"I am your disposal, doctor, and I'll be more than happy to share my knowledge."
"Senor Bautista will be most thrilled to find out she is well. He has been asking about the little girl since he's finally got over his fever last evening."
"He's awake? I'd like to see him, in that case." Diego stated and they left the little one in Felipe's care, heading for the room where the remaining three injured new settlers were staying.
"Senor Bautista!" The doctor called him when reaching his bed. "The Governor would like a word with you, senor."
The man made an effort to turn on his back and stared at Diego, who stared back at him.
"Senor Sánchez?" The man asked with undisguised astonishment.
"Do I know you, senor?" Diego wondered as the man's face did, indeed, seem familiar to him but could not place it.
"Si, senor! You helped me when I was shot in the leg, a couple of years ago! You were searching for Comandante Azuela's body."
"You?" Diego started remembering. "Yes. Of course! I remember now. But how are you here?"
"My leg, senor. It was as you said. It healed but I remained with a limp, so the Alcalde had to dismiss me since I could no longer do the job. He was, however, kind enough to give me a thousand pesos as a retirement fund and I decided to come here and buy some land. It is cheaper in California, and I heard there is money to be made in San Francisco."
"Indeed…" Diego uttered. "Senor Bautista, what can you tell me about the little girl you found? How did you come across her? What do you know about her parents?"
"Is she alive, senor? The doctor said she was."
"She is, and she is feeling much better, I assure you. But we need to find her family and, so far, we haven't had much luck."
"Her parents are dead, senor. I saw them with my own eyes. They had both been shot. The girl was still in her mother's arms when we found her, the woman's body still warm. The father was dressed as a vaquero and was lying in a puddle of blood in the wagon, shot in the chest, right beneath his shoulder."
"Do you know who did it, or why?"
"No, Senor Sánchez. But half a mile north, we did pass by a couple of men, well-built and rough-looking, heading towards the place where we had found her. Maybe it was them and they were returning to see if there was more to take."
"Maybe…" Diego uttered, pensively. "Thank you for the information, senor. I hope you'll get better soon!"
"What will you do with her? You are not putting her in an orphanage, are you?"
"No, senor. I don't intend to do anything like that, I assure you!"
"That's good. She needs a family."
Diego smiled at the man and nodded.
ZZZ
When Elena's health had improved enough for her to stay awake much of the day, Diego and Felipe had both gotten into the habit of reading to her and tell her bedtime stories, both men growing fonder by the day of the little black-haired, blue-eyed child who was also growing fond of them. She had only asked for her mommy the first few days after she got well enough to speak but, as her mother failed to appear, her memory of her started to fade, her mere presence in her life being replaced by the tall caballero who was always there.
Senor Bautista had visited her once, the day before leaving with the other settlers, again on their way to San Francisco. The little girl did not recognize him, but he was extremely content to see she was doing so much better, and left with a light heart.
As soon as she was allowed outside, after weeks of confinement, Elena became the best friend of little Alejandro Azuela, both of them running and playing under Isabel's close supervision, providing a lot of entertainment for the two Sánchez as well as for the Commander, his men and any other person visiting the Governor, who couldn't help but stop and smile at seeing them.
"She'll be a better swordsman than my son if she keeps that up!" Miguel once told Diego while they were both watching with some amusement as the two children were engaged in a duel using some mock sabers Isabel had fashioned for them using cloth and straws, decided to no longer let them play with wooden sticks after her son's latest injury at Elena's hands.
"I doubt that." Diego stated. "She might, however, be a swordswoman." He clarified. "She does have the makings of one; and she is, indeed, better than your son, already!"
"Do I feel some parental pride in that statement, Diego?" Miguel attempted to joke.
Diego looked at him but said nothing, pensively returning his gaze towards Elena and Alejandro.
"Any news on her family?" Diego eventually asked.
"No, my friend. For all intends and purposes, she has no family left."
ZZZ
Joyfully dedicating as much time as he could to little Elena, Diego got into the habit of taking her horse riding on Tornado; let her assist with his experiments, explaining to her what he was doing, as best he could explain to a toddler, and even allowing for her to play in his office when he didn't have any meetings. All this until, one day, Diego informed his son he had decided to start the adoption procedures since he already thought of her as a daughter. Felipe's eyes filled with tears at hearing his decision and embraced him.
"That is wonderful news, father!" He stated. "I always wanted a little sister! I will start the procedures today!"
"What do you say, Elena?" Diego asked the girl. "Do you want me to be your father?"
The girl nodded happily and reached her arms so that he would embrace her, so Diego took her and spun her in the air, holding her tightly, also feeling his eyes filling with tears.
"I will need all your original papers, father." Felipe stated, trying to avoid crying at seeing how happy Diego was to hold his future daughter, realizing it had been years since he last saw him like that.
Diego took a deep breath, trying to regain control over his emotions. "Senor Sada should have them, except for the Annulment, which I doubt you will need, but which you can ask from Don Luis Cristobal of Santa Barbara. He's the one who handled the procedure." He told him.