AN: Well… Since you are here… I guess I do owe you a story.
Enjoy!
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It was a beautiful April morning, even if the calendar in the Alcalde's office still indicated March the 31st.
Diego woke up around 8 a.m., stood up in bed and looked puzzled around him. He had remained that night at the tavern, at Victoria's request, because she had a guest who looked like trouble, and he was more than pleased with her remark that she felt safer with him there. Yet, as morning came, it was not his bed at the tavern that he had woken up in, but the Alcalde's.
Looking down, Diego noticed he was dressed in his own nightclothes and the sheets and blanket on the bed were also his own.
Moments later Mendoza knocked on the door and, as he answered, he came in.
"Your coffee, Alcalde!" He said, giving the flabbergasted caballero a cup. "Do you want me to assist you with getting dressed?"
"Alcalde? What are you talking about, Sergeant?" Diego wondered. "Why am I here? How? When did I get here?"
"These are your quarters, Don Diego, as they have been since you were elected Alcalde, over ten months ago." The Sergeant uttered.
"Elected Alcalde? I'm afraid you must be mistaken, Sergeant! Or is this some sort of joke?"
"No, of course not, Don Diego! The truth is you've been suffering from memory loss."
"Memory loss?"
"Si, Alcalde! Since your accident. It happened not long after you took over the office. You tried to climb to the roof of the cuartel to help the men repair some tiles. I shouldn't have let you. Your balance never was very good. But you insisted and… and you fell and hit your head. You've been suffering from memory loss ever since."
"That can't be, Mendoza! I remember quite well who I am… I know where I am..." Diego contradicted him. "Last night I went to bed in one of Victoria's -"
"Guestrooms." Mendoza interrupted him. "Because of that big vaquero who had gotten drunk. She asked you to stay in case he posed any trouble. But he did not. He left the following day, heading for Santa Barbara. But that was over a year ago, Don Diego." The Sergeant told him.
The caballero looked puzzled towards him, starting to believe his friend, but still unable to come to terms with the mere idea that he was now alcalde.
"The last thing I remember was that Victoria brought me a tea when she went to sleep. I drank it and fell asleep right after that… But I was in the tavern…"
"I know, Don Diego. You told me that many times. It's just the last thing you remember for some reason." Mendoza replied.
Standing up, the caballero opened the closet to find his clothes there, neatly organized. Still dumbfounded, he asked the sergeant to step outside, refusing his help with getting shaved, and started getting dressed.
About ten minutes later, he was crossing the plaza, headed for the tavern, just as his father was entering the pueblo.
"Good morning, Son!" Don Alejandro greeted as he reached him and dismounted. "Going to the tavern for breakfast?"
"Yes, Father…" Diego confirmed. "Father, Mendoza told me a strange story this morning. I was wondering if you - "
"He probably told you again that you are Alcalde, didn't he? Poor man. He has to convince you every morning that you have taken over after De Soto was dismissed. I'm sorry you still have this problem. Doctor Hernandez has been doing his best to find a cure, though. I hope he soon might."
"So it's true?"
Don Alejandro nodded.
"And Ignacio?"
"He was demoted to Lieutenant and booted out of office. But you hired him back and offered him the command of the lancers, since you are hardly fit to lead them in search of bandits, and nobody expects you to be able to stand through an execution, least of all to give the order. Not that there were many of those since you took over… Of course, the man only agreed because he needed to set aside enough money to get a passage back to Spain after the Governor confiscated everything he owned." The old caballero uttered.
"Demoted and booted out of office?" Diego wondered. "What did he do to deserve that?"
"Oh… That's a long story and you'll forget it by tomorrow anyway. I told it to you at least a hundred times already. Let's just say that Zorro managed to open the governor's eyes about him, and the man saw it fit to do the right thing for once and get us rid of him and let us elect a new alcalde in his place. Now, with you at the reins, we all have a far easier life, and even De Soto is doing a good job since he's been following your orders."
As they entered the taproom, they greeted Victoria with a smile and sat at a table.
"I see… And Zorro?" Diego wondered.
"He comes from time to time to deliver you bandits. De Soto still pursues him, but you have asked the lancers not to shoot at him while in the pueblo for fear they might injure other people. Victoria, however, is rather upset that you haven't pardoned him yet." Don Alejandro explained. "But I understand, Son. After all, he did call you a weakling to your face once or twice."
"Really?" Diego eyed his father suspiciously, then looked towards Victoria who did seem rather upset with him, but, as she turned her back, he noticed in the mirror above the bar that she was, in fact, smiling.
Mendoza entered the tavern just as the De la Vegas were ordering breakfast, so they added his meal to the order as he joined them. A few more people entered, all greeting Diego as 'Alcalde', then sitting at their own tables. De Soto also soon came through the door.
"Alcalde…" He greeted, seeming rather respectful at seeing him, before sitting down at the only free table, just next to the De la Vegas. "Breakfast, por favor, Señorita!" He proceeded to order.
"Only if you pay upfront!" She retorted. "You already owe me for the meals you had here the last week."
De Soto looked at her with a frown, then glanced at Diego. "You really should consider paying us better!" He told him as he took out a coin, handing it to the taverness, just as some strangers walked through the door.
"Excuse me!" The Sergeant said as he stood up and headed towards the new arrivals.
The tall caballero followed him with his eyes, curious to see what he was up to. "Welcome, Señores, to El Pueblo de Los Angeles. I am Sergeant Jaime Mendoza and I'll be collecting the traveller's tax. It's two pesos each." He heard his friend inform the men.
"Traveler's tax?" One of them asked, aghast. "I've never heard of such a thing!"
"Sergeant!" Diego immediately stood up. "There must be a mistake. I must have cancelled that tax long ago, haven't I?"
Mendoza looked puzzled at him, then instinctively glanced at De Soto who frowned but nodded slightly. "No… Alcalde… The tax is still in effect…" He muttered confused.
"Then I cancel it now! I'm sorry, Señores. Do not worry about taxes. As long as you respect the people here, you are welcome to this pueblo and my men won't bother you." Diego said, addressing the strangers who nodded and asked for drinks. "Now, Sergeant, let's finish our breakfast. I feel like there is much work to do at the office." The tall caballero told Mendoza who followed him back to the table.
About ten minutes later, as his father and the Sergeant were doing their best to fill in as many of Diego's memory gaps as they could, a young woman, dressed in an elegant light brown dress entered the tavern and headed straight for their table.
"Here you are, my dear!" She said as she hurriedly kissed the aghast Diego on the cheek. "Good morning Sergeant, Don Alejandro!"
"I'm sorry, Señorita…" Diego uttered, retreating and instinctively glancing at Victoria to see her reaction "I'm afraid I don't know you…"
The taverness seemed unsurprised by the woman's presence there and pretended not to be interested in what he would do.
"Of course, you don't!" The señorita replied. "We've been engaged for months now and you still don't know who I am!"
"Engaged?" Diego wondered, now focusing all his attention on the young woman.
"Yes, Son! This is Maria-Clara de Bromada. Your fiancée." Don Alejandro answered.
"My fiancée? No! That's impossible! Señorita, I apologize if I ever made you believe I would marry you, but that will never happen." Diego said quite firmly.
"What? But you promised!"
"I don't know you and have no plans to marry!" He replied.
"My father will challenge you to a duel for this!" She said with a trembling voice as she stood up and threw, rather dramatically, a ring at him.
Diego collected it, realizing he had never seen it among his mother's jewels, watched in dismay as she hurried out the door, then looked inquisitively at his father.
"Why did you do that Son? She was a fine young woman and still wanted to marry you despite your accident!" The don said furiously.
"I do not know that woman, Father! She is a stranger to me. And even if I wanted to marry, I would still rather marry someone I remember from before having lost my memory than wake up next to a stranger every morning." Diego replied, rather taken aback by his parent's attitude.
"And who do you think will have you now? You need to go after Maria and apologize, because you either marry soon, and give me those grandchildren I want, or I disinherit you, Son! Am I clear? That, unless her father manages to kill you first in that duel!" Don Alejandro stated enraged as he got up and left the tavern.
ZZZ
Diego, Mendoza and De Soto made their way back to the garrison, in silence, a few minutes after Don Alejandro left. Seeing how the other two men seemed determined to follow him, and rather distrusting the latter's strange grin, the tall caballero turned around as they reached the door to the Alcalde's office.
"I'm not in need of an escort, Ignacio." He said. "Perhaps you and the Sergeant can find something more useful to do? Training the men for example?"
His former schoolmate frowned, then the strange smile appeared again on his face as he and Mendoza headed for the cuartel's courtyard.
Diego watched them go, then entered the office, hurriedly making his way from there to the Alcalde's private quarters, where he started searching the bedroom. Just moments later, Felipe snuck through the window, managing to surprise his adoptive father when he tapped his shoulder.
"Felipe! Thank God! I'm either going mad or something is very wrong here." He uttered.
ZZZ
About an hour and a half later, just around 10:30 a.m., one of the De la Vega tenants came riding into town, only to stop before the Alcalde's office where Mendoza greeted him. After the man told him the reason why he was there, he hurriedly took him to De Soto.
"Juan here just informed me that he saw Zorro this morning at El Canyon Perdido, chasing some bandits, and it looked like he was injured." The Sergeant mentioned.
"He was barely able to stay in the saddle, Alcalde!" The man confirmed.
"Zorro? Of course…" De Soto only hesitated for a few moments. "Finally, I get the chance to capture that fiend!" He uttered as he instructed a few of his men to get ready.
"What's going on?" Diego wondered as he strolled into the garrison' courtyard.
"I have to leave… Juan, your father's tenant, just saw Zorro at Canyon Perdido." De Soto replied.
"I'd rather you don't go on pointless chases for Zorro, Ignacio!" He replied as the poor Juan was looking confused between the two.
"He was following some bandits… And he's injured, apparently…" De Soto tried to explain. "Those bandits might be very dangerous if they managed to wound him… so it's my duty to capture them."
"Oh… I see… In that case, yes, of course…" He replied.
"Don Diego…" De Soto uttered as he mounted his horse, "Don't overexert yourself in my absence! There's really not much for you to do today…"
The caballero nodded. "Don't worry about me. I think I'll be doing some reading and Mendoza will be here if I need anything." He assured him with an innocent smile as Ignacio hurriedly left the garrison with Juan and six lancers.
ZZZ
About an hour after De Soto left in search of Zorro and the other outlaws, as the tall caballero was reading the tax records, a courier arrived, handing a message to Mendoza, who, when told it was urgent and saw that the man left in a hurry to continue his journey south, despite hesitating for a few moments, took it to Diego.
The caballero thanked him and asked that he waited outside.
Fifteen minutes later he asked for Mendoza to return.
"Sergeant, this must be posted at the tavern as soon as possible! I already made sure it was legal. I doubt it affects anyone except Victoria, but, since my memory is what it is, I might as well be wrong."
Taking the paper to have a look at it, Mendoza's eyes grew in disbelief as he glanced back at the caballero.
"When I was in Madrid there were rumours that such laws were to be enacted, Sergeant! A measure aimed at ensuring the population growth in the colonies." Diego confessed. "I did, however, believe they were just rumours since none materialized thus far. I guess the Governor decided to put the idea into practice after all..."
Mendoza swallowed hard and went to the tavern to post the announcement, hoping the fiery innkeeper would not punish him for it.
"What is that?" Victoria asked as she heard the noise, then stomped out, followed by Don Alejandro. "What? Is this real, Sergeant?" She asked aghast after reading the poster.
"I'm afraid so, Señorita!" He replied. "We just received the message from the Governor and Don Diego already checked to see if it was legal."
"But… But this can't be!" Victoria muttered. "I can't just lose my tavern because I'm not married! And I can't marry Zorro since he's not able to take off his mask yet!"
"I'm afraid you will lose the tavern unless you marry someone, Señorita!" Mendoza stated. "It says right there – unmarried women no longer have the right to own properties after today. At least, you are the only woman in Los Angeles affected by the new law."
"And that's a good thing?" She asked furiously and Mendoza froze in place, unable to come up with a good answer.
"I'll go talk to my son. See if he has a solution to this." Don Alejandro suggested as he left, followed by the Sergeant, and Victoria started measuring the time in seconds as she waited, worrying that she was about to lose everything because of such an arbitrary law that seemed purposefully made to hurt her.
About ten minutes later, Diego and his father, accompanied by Mendoza, made their way towards the tavern.
"So? What do you think I should do, Don Diego?" Victoria asked as soon as he entered the taproom.
"As I told Father, I think you should get married." Diego simply stated. "If you want to keep the tavern that's the only option you have. Perhaps… Ignacio might be a good suitor, considering you two already had a short affair last year? If he is broke, as my father said, he might be willing to marry you… perhaps he might even prove helpful in the tavern…"
"What? No! That's out of the question! Victoria marrying De Soto?" Don Alejandro protested, putting into words the expression on the young woman's face.
"Who then? Sergeant Mendoza?" Diego wondered.
The Sergeant's eyes sparkled at the suggestion, but Victoria looked confused between the two of them.
"I'm afraid that's also out of the question. I would go broke in a month with the Sergeant for a husband!" She uttered. "Besides, the only man I want to marry is Zorro!"
"If you do, he'll have to unmask and I'll be forced to have him arrested and executed, Victoria. I don't want to… But the man has a price on his head…" Diego stated.
"You wouldn't!" She uttered stunned by his words.
"As I said, I don't want to… but it would be my duty." He answered. "Isn't that right, Sergeant?"
Mendoza nodded hesitantly. "Si… Si… Don… Alcalde…" He muttered.
"I would, of course, pardon him if it were in my power to do so. But, after my father told me this morning that you resent me for not having pardoned him already, I studied the issue and, as it turns out, only the Governor has the power to pardon Zorro at this point. That is why I didn't do so already. Perhaps… Perhaps you two can marry and I'll just keep him in jail while I try to convince the governor to give him a pardon." Diego told her, an honest look on his face.
Victoria and Don Alejandro exchanged a glance.
"No! I… I… I don't trust the governor… And I don't want anything to happen to Zorro." She stated. "But I don't want to lose my tavern, either!"
"Well… if you don't want him to publicly unmask and do want to keep waiting for him, you will lose the tavern. But, as long as I'm alcalde, I will be more than happy to allow you to continue managing it, if you find that a better solution. At least that much I can do for a friend. I'm not De Soto after all…" Diego then stated with a kind smile.
Victoria stared at him horrified, then glanced at Don Alejandro. "I'll be on the streets!" She exclaimed.
"Of course not!" The old don contradicted her. "But I do also think marriage is your best alternative, though. Let's think of this another way. If there was no Zorro, who would you want to marry?" Don Alejandro asked.
Victoria instinctively glanced at Diego.
"Why not marry Don Diego?" Mendoza suggested despite not noticing her glance.
"Me?" The tall caballero asked seemingly surprised.
"Why not? You are good friends and you care about the Señorita! I always thought you would make a beautiful couple! Almost as beautiful as the Señorita and Zorro make."
Victoria glanced again at her best friend after hearing what the Sergeant had to say, unsure how to feel about the suggestion and even more doubtful that Diego would agree.
"I… I am not really the marrying type, Sergeant! Plus… I just broke up an engagement this morning…" Diego replied. "I love Victoria like a sister, and I would do almost anything for her, but getting a wife… in my case - "
"Would be of great help to you, Son. Especially a woman such as Victoria. You did say you'd rather marry someone you knew from before your memory loss happened. So why not her? If you don't want to marry Maria because you don't love her, why not marry to help a friend?" Don Alejandro interrupted him to voice his opinion.
The tall caballero paced the tavern for a few moments, a hand on his chin, while everyone was awaiting his reply.
"I could help her save the tavern… and you wouldn't disinherit me anymore, would you, Father?" He asked, looking pensive.
"No! Marry Victoria and I promise your inheritance is safe!" Don Alejandro stated. "What do you think, my dear? I, for one, would like nothing better than for you to be my daughter-in-law." He then addressed the taverness.
The young woman remained silent for a few moments, trying to gather her thoughts and looking intently at the caballero. "Ah… Alright… If Don Diego agrees…" She eventually answered.
"It's settled, then! You'll marry Diego this afternoon! I'll go talk to Padre Benitez." Don Alejandro informed everyone.
Diego and Victoria remained glancing pensively at each other.
"Wait, Father!" He called the older don, who was just about to step outside. "Do you think such a wedding would be fair to Victoria? If my memory is as damaged as you and the Sergeant said it is… I will wake up every morning her husband, unaware that she is my wife. And what if we have children? I can't imagine hurting them with the knowledge that every day they'll have to remind me who they are. And what if it progresses? I will be a burden to her… to our family."
"Nonsense! Trust me, Diego! You'll be fine." Don Alejandro stated. "Doctor Hernandez is already working on finding a cure and I'm sure he's close to succeeding. So this memory problem of yours will be mended. Sooner or later…" After saying that, the caballero returned to his mission and made his way towards the church.
Diego watched him go, a displeased expression on his face, which he rapidly changed as he returned to gaze at Victoria.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked. "What about Zorro?"
"I can't be with Zorro, as you, yourself pointed out." She answered. "I can't risk his life just to save my tavern and I can't lose it, either. It's all I have. My home…"
The caballero smiled kindly. "It won't be anymore if we are to marry." He cautioned her. "I would, of course, sign any document you need so that you could keep ownership and continue to manage it if you so wish. But, as my wife, you'd have to move to my quarters at the cuartel at first… Then, when my mandate as Alcalde is over, you'll have to come to live at the hacienda with me, my father and Felipe."
"I understand that, Diego!" She answered. "But, at least, the tavern would be safe. And I'd rather marry a friend than a complete stranger."
"But… You also need to think about our future. What if Doctor Hernandez doesn't find a cure? What if I become a burden to you?"
"You are my best friend! You could never be a burden to me." She said with a smile.
Diego stared at her for a few more moments, waiting to see if there was anything else she wanted to say to him. "I should also go talk to Padre Benitez." He eventually uttered when she didn't say another word. "I hope you will not feel offended if I'll be wearing one of my normal suits to the ceremony, seeing how I don't have the time to order a new one."
"Or course not!" She stated as he took his leave.
"We must tell him the truth!" Victoria told Mendoza after he left and they were sure he was unable to hear them.
"But the Alcalde left strict orders for us not to!" The Sergeant answered. "And if we do, Don Diego might get upset and decide not to marry you after all! And then you'll either have to marry someone else or you will be on the streets!"