As said before I'm only going to use the episodes I want to. This being a more romantic story, how could I leave the episode in the cave out?
Chapter 10
In the weeks that passed, it became clear to most people the love between Zorro and Victoria had indeed ended.
Victoria no longer, all ears as soon as the name Zorro felt. Zorro being seen in the pueblo less. And if he did ride in, he didn't single out the tavern owner.
The tavern owner didn't seem to mind a bit. Actually she seemed more relieved he was ignoring her. Instead, she spent more time with her close friend don Diego. Some people saying they had known all along the young don was a better match as the masked outlaw. But she was also seen with other men.
On walks around the plaza and making small talks in the tavern or plaza.
Alcalde de Soto had been keeping a keen eye on señorita Escalante. In fact, he had ordered lancers to stay close to her. A task, sergeant Mendoza had willingly taken up to himself.
That was until the tavern owner got so tired of it, she gave the sergeant the choice. Leaving her alone, or never getting any service in the tavern again.
When his friend close Diego tried to defend Mendoza, he was only doing his duty she warned him, he could have the same treatment coming upon him.
And so Mendoza stopped that heavy duty. And de Soto still believed he was on top of everything. Mendoza reporting daily nothing out of the common had happened, and Zorro had not been seen near the tavern.
.
Zorro had been riding since hours before dawn, searching the area for a group of five or six bandits who had taken up the custom of robbing farms early in the morning on the east side of the pueblo. He has just given up on catching them this morning and was on his way back to the hacienda. In the hope to catch some sleep before his father wakes him.
Zorro brings Toronado to a halt to take a closer view on some tracks perhaps belonging to the bandits. Squeezing his eye to see or perhaps in the distance there is some smoke.
All he sees a cart is coming his way in a fast pace. It doesn't take long for him to see it is Victoria and her horse has gone running wild. Turning in the right direction he urges Toronado into gallop. The horse understanding what is expected of him.
It does not take long for Zorro to catch up with the cart and ride alongside. As soon as it feels safe enough, Zorro makes the jump off Toronado's back and onto the back of Victoria's cart horse.
For a second he thinks he hears Victoria screaming… "Zorro! No!"
Zorro brings her horse to a halt then dismounts and walks back to Victoria, who is sitting in her cart."Are you all right?"
Victoria frustrated and angry for Zorro interfering. "No, I'm not!" She looks over her shoulder as at the same moment gunshots are heard and two bullets hit the wood back of Victoria's seat rest.
The men coming closer in a fast speed have bandannas pulled up over their faces as they shoot at Victoria and Zorro. Zorro realizes her horse hadn't gone out of control. "Bandits!"
"Yes!"
Zorro jumps into the cart, takes the reins from Victoria, and urges the cart horse forward. They drive down the road as the bandits chase after them. Zorro and Victoria look over their shoulders before urging the horse to go faster.
The group of six bandits keep up the chase. Zorro and Victoria look behind them again. The bandits still closing up.
One of the cart wheels comes off and rolls away. The cart is going to crash, so Zorro sees only one way out as he looks at the running wheel.
"Jump!" He, pushes Victoria to his left as he jumps to his right from the cart. Victoria landing on opposite side of the road. The bandits keep riding to towards them. Victoria's horse walks away from the broken cart as Zorro gets up to his feet. He runs across the road where Victoria is lying face down in some grass.
"Victoria." with his hand on her back he shakes her. Victoria is not responding. "I must get you to safety." Lifting her up Zorro starts to carry her away from the road, in the hope to find safety.
Bandits coming closer, he hears them shouting to each other. "Over there! Over there! Yes, the wagon! He's got her!"
The bandits have reached the cart and stop. Zorro still carrying Victoria getting out of sight by walking into some brushes.
The bandits' leader shouting to his men "You three, search the wagon. Pedro, Juan, come with me!"
One of the responding.
"We have the wagon, Jefe. Why make troubles for ourselves?"
The leader answering. "Because Zorro's bounty is six thousand pesos, that is why. Come on!"
The other five bandits standing near the cart. Like they not plan to move at all. The one referred to as Pedro saying. "But Zorro is, well... he's Zorro.
Jefe "He ran away from us, didn't he?" He looks down at the ground, looking for something. "Only one set of tracks, he's carrying her. They can't get far. Come on!" making his way to the brushes he sees the tracks lead to. The remaining bandits still not eager to follow. In the end only two of them go after their leader. Jefe stopping to see who is fallowing him and give orders.
"Shoot him on sight. The woman too. I don't want witnesses."
Zorro is hiding behind a rock, and has heard every word the leader has said. He is holding Victoria as the bandits pass by on the other side of the rock. Zorro stands up and starts walking down a hill, carrying the still unconscious Victoria.
From a distance, he hears the bandits leaders shouting. "Hurry! Move it! We are so close we can't give up now. Zorro is ours!"
Zorro keeps looking over his shoulder as he carries Victoria. He comes up to a rock and sets Victoria down on it. He is breathing heavily.
"Victoria, I was planning on show you, the cave one of these days anyway. Let's go." Kissing her forehead, spooning her up again, and stepping on the board that is hidden in the ground which opens the entrance to the cave.
Just before the door closes behind him, he hears the bandits again.
He has not seen that a piece of Victoria's red skirt got torn because of the sharp thorns on a branch.
"Look, amigos! Over here! Footprints! No, over here! No, Pedro. This way!"
Jefe taking off his hat. Kneeling next to the footprints in the sand. "They went up there."
.
Carefully placing Victoria in his chair behind the big mahogany desk. Zorro then returns to the entrance of the cave, looking to the peek hole to see what is happening outside.
The bandits' leader still doesn't seem to have given up. The two others less sure, they are where they want to be. Perhaps questioning themselves how Zorro managed to vanish so quickly. Jefe crouches down and puts his hand on the ground.
"The tracks..." He gets up and takes several steps forward. "They just disappear." taking a few steps back. Looking around for some clue. Jefe spots the piece of red cloth coming from the skirt Victoria is wearing. Walking to it, he grabs it and smiles. Diego can hardly see what is happening for Jefe is standing to close to the peek hole.
Jefe walks back to the other two bandits "They're very close, hombres."
The two other men only responding with a "Ah".
Jefe looks around suspiciously. No one can just vanish like that. There had to be an answer to be found. "Very close, search the area again."
From inside the cave Zorro is still spying on the bandits. He can not get out without revealing his secret hide out. This Jefe seems to have good tracking skills. Wondering what Zorro is supposed to do. As Jefe slowly comes closer and closer to the board hidden in the ground.
Jefe pointing at the ground. "Ah, this way."
Suddenly hoof beats then a whinny is heard. Jefe pushes one of the bandits backward as Toronado emerges from the brush and rears up, scattering the bandits. Toronado hits one of the bandits with a hoof and the man lands face down in the dirt. Toronado kicks Jefe, who goes flying through the air. "Aahh!"
Toronado continues to whinny loudly and rear up on his hind legs. Taking off, leaving the bandits behind in a wave of dust.
Zorro is still looking through the peek hole. And sees how Toronado has come to his help and destroys the tracks. "They'll never find those tracks now. Good work, Toronado."
Jefe stumbles as he gets up. "That horse destroyed their tracks. Back to the wagon!"
Zorro keeps looking through the peek hole until the bandits have gone out of sight.
Returning to the main room of the cave, it worries him to see Victoria is in still unconscious. And is just sitting the same way as he has left her.
She must have hit the ground hard.
In the hope it will wake her sooner he fills a bowl with cool water and gets his mask of. Using it to gently wipe it over her face.
It does not take long for Victoria to open her eyes and see Diego still in his Zorro outfit without a mask on, sitting before her.
Victoria smiling "I told you not do interfere."
"Si you did. I thought your horse had gone running wild."
"Luna? She would never do that to me. Where are we?"
"We are in my cave, see those stairs?" pointing at the gate leading to the hacienda. "It leads to the secret door in the library I have told you about.
Um. . . Why were those outlaws chasing you?"
Victoria as Diego dabs at her forehead "Outlaws?"
Victoria jumps out of the chair. Immediately cringes in pain "Oh! Because of my wagon... The wagon!" falling back in the chair grabbing her left ankle "Ow! Ow!"
"What's wrong?"
"It is my ankle."
Diego looking down at it, and carefully taking of her shoe as Victoria hisses between her teeth. "This ankle is either very badly sprained or broken. I think it's going to need a splint."
Victoria closes her eyes and nods. "Great, just what I needed.
It's just that there's a thousand pesos in a secret compartment underneath the floorboards in my wagon."
Diego had been getting up, starts looking around the cave. He picks up a wooden contraption and is examining the thing. "A thousand pesos?" He puts the contraption back down on the table. "Why were you carrying so much money?"
"I was on my way to San Fernando, to settle the mortgage on my tavern."
Diego has found a piece of wood he thinks will do and breaks it of a different wooden contraption. Walking over to his lab table to get a piece of linen and starts to tear it in strips.
"Well, if we are lucky, the bandits won't discover the secret compartment."
"Diego, I can't afford to take that chance. I have to do something." Trying to get out of the chair. The minute she puts weight on it, cringing again.
"Let me take care of your ankle first. I will ask Felipe to bring you something to eat. Then I go check on your cart.
I think it is the same bandits I have been trying to chase this night. If I am correct they are the ones robbing those poor farmers on the east side of the pueblo. Are you sure you are further fine? Since you were unconscious, I presume you hit your head.
Still worried about her being unconsious for so long he asked.
"No dizziness or blurry sight, headache?"
"Diego I am fine, except for my ankle and my uncontrollable desire of wanting to smack you in your face for pushing me of my cart."
Diego smiled, he had always loved Victoria's independence and vivacity. "I love you to querida." finished spraining her ankle. "Let me warn Felipe, and I'll be on my way. When I return, and you still have that,,, uncontrollable desire I will be at your service." Making a small salute causing Victoria to giggle.
"Just be careful. It were six of them."
"Always Victoria."
.
Ten minutes after Zorro left the cave, Felipe comes in down the stairs, carrying a tray of food and something to drink.
"Thank you, Felipe. It looks delicious. You want something too. It is way too much for me alone."
Felipe smiling, weaving his hands that it was all hers. He then gets a broom and starts to swipe the floor. From a distance a voice enters the cave.
"Diego! Felipe! Now where are those two. Diego!"
Felipe apologized with a small shake of his head. Leaving the broom and ran up the stairs to see what it is the old don wants.
Being left alone in the cave Victoria sits back, has a drink and eats an apple. She is not that hungry.
Her eyes glaring across the cave, Diego had mentioned a couple of times but never had been able to show her. Mostly because every time she had visited the hacienda in the past weeks the old don had being the perfect host. Not leaving his guest alone for a single moment. She was impressed by what she saw.
It proved Zorro had always been better prepared than she even thought possible.
Diego really an intelligent capable man, not only using fight skills and cleverness but also science and knowledge. This terrific man she was to call hers.
Her eyes wandered over the books laying open on his desk. She did not understand any of them. All had difficult calculations, words or drawings in them.
She had once heard the doctor say that if your ankle was really broken you could not put any weight on it. She wanted to know how bad it was, and so she carefully got up and started slowly to put some weight on the injured ankle.
With some effort she was able to walk. And Victoria starts to take a closer look at the kite Zorro had made one of his first appearances in. At the same time relieved that however painful, she is still able to walk.
Making her way back to the chair to sit down again she trembled because the floor is uneven. She grab for the first thing coming in view. That is a pile of books on the desk that gave of course no help. Falling on her knees. Darn.
Victoria started to pick up the books. One of them has fallen open to the floor. When she picks it up she notices her name is in it.
It was a journal she saw
The page the journal was open at, was dated years ago. It was dated back to when Ramón was still alcalde.
Not wanting to read, but as curious not to read, her eyes started to glide over the neatly written down words. Soon she realized this page was about the time she had taken a bullet for Zorro and almost died of the fever that it had cost her to have afterwards.
Pushing herself up, with the help of the desk, she seated herself in the chair again. Taking a look at her knees. Nothing to be seen, probably only some bad bruises in the morning.
All the books were back on the desk again, it was the words she had read on those two pages of the journal occupying her mind. She had not want to read them. Understanding it was something private. She only read it because it had been about her, she tried to plead herself free.
Thinking back on that time.
She had recovered and Zorro had come to thank her for jumping before him. In the garden of the hacienda she and Zorro had shared their first kiss.
It happened after Zorro had said something that at that moment had seemed very strange to her. Zorro had said that she should marry a man like don Diego.
Victoria had been so confused for why Zorro would say such a thing, and she had not known how fast she had to reassure Zorro she was never to marry a man like don Diego. And was willing to wait for Zorro for as long as needed.
Finally, knowing the truth now, she realized it had been a poor attempt of Diego to marry her without her finding out he was also Zorro.
And she had turned his suggestion down, in a what must be the most painful way for Diego. That could not have been easy. How many times had she unintentionally hurt Diego by proclaiming her everlasting love for Zorro, Victoria wondered again?
And still Diego had never given up on them. Always putting her and Zorro in first place. To help and protect the people he felt responsible for.
Like that time she had asked both Zorro and Diego to travel to the Devils' fort. To try and free her father. Thanks to Diego in the last minutes of his life, her father had breath the air of a freed man.
One more time before he had died, surrounded by two of his three children. She had been grateful for Zorro doing that for her. At the same time mocking Diego for getting lost again on his way over to the fort.
Every time Zorro had showed up to help the pueblo and her, it had been Diego. Risking his life, time after time for no one else did. Never asking for anything in return.
Instead, allowed don Diego to become the laughingstock of the entire pueblo. She maybe the one laughing the hardest.
How was it possible he had forgiven her all these times, and still loved her? Victoria her eyes turned watery as she read the page again how desperate Diego had felt when he wasn't sure she was going to survive.
How, as she was slowly making a recovery and had been more concerned for the myth wearing a mask than for the heartbroken man sitting next to her bed. Hour after hour holding her hand. Not leaving her side. To blind to see what he was trying to tell her. Too busy thinking about everything, except for the man sitting next to hear.
He had wanted to give up on Zorro because of her. Victoria pursuing him to continue his self chosen quest because of her.
If only she had the power to travel back in time, she would do that. Go back to that time and just hold him, comfort him, telling him she never had wanted to hurt him, couldn't life without him.
In this journal was hidden the real Diego. With all his fears, insecurities, hopes and dreams. She had found the real Diego, finally…
And she loved him even more than before.
Having done all these discoveries in less than an hour time, it was a lot to sunken into. There was one thing she had no doubt over any more, it was time. Time to take the next step.
.
When Zorro arrived at the cart the money was gone.
Fallowing the tracks, the men had left, it did not take long before Zorro found them again.
Closer to his cave than he wanted them to be, he hears one of them saying,
"No wonder he calls himself the fox."
Sending Toronado away again, Zorro slowly comes up closer. Hiding in the bushes, growing against the cave's outer wall. Frustrated he pumps his fist against the wall, for leaving Victoria alone for a mere thousand pesos.
The bandits are circling at the entrance. Looking for what? The tracks have been destroyed already. It was clear they just had come back to their starting point to see what they could find. Knowing a hiding place was nearby.
One of the bandits feet is only inches away from the hidden board, that needs to step on to open the entrance of the cave. And Victoria and Felipe are inside, unable to do a thing if things go wrong. He should not have left her alone.
"Shame I didn't get my hands on him before."
"Give it up Jefe. That fox is to smart for us. Be better to leave the area, now Zorro will be on our tails. I don't want to end up in prison."
"Six thousands pesos Luis. That is more the man each than that wench was carrying." Jefe still walking forward, now away from the entrance walking up to his men. "And we are this close, I can feel it." Holding his thumb and index finger almost together.
Zorro was unsure what to do. He can fight them here, that wouldn't be the problem.
The risk of one of the bandits or even himself stepping on the board and opening the cave door is what makes it to a dangerous thing to act. Zorro needs to distract them and lead the bandits away from here.
Again Jefe walks in the direction of the board. Missing it by less than an inch this time. "We'll divide up the money tonight."
"Why not now?" Luis wants to know, getting support from the others.
"Yeah! Now!"
Jefe grabbing Luis shirt. "We do it, tonight! That woman who escaped with Zorro? She knows where his hideout is, yes? And once she returns to the tavern. We will kidnap her and get the information out of her." Jefe holding up a knife. "One way or another. This night we will have six thousand pesos more to divide, I am telling you!"
He lets go of the bandit and walks away. "Vamanos!"
The bandits laughing and making their way back to the horses standing some feet away. Still they do not see Zorro and unaware he had heard every word they had been saying. If they had noticed, they should have seen the man's face cramped in pain whispering.
"Never again will someone hurt you because of me, querida."
.
.