I do not own anything of the series or characters.

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Chapter 1

A quick glance at his pocket watch informed Diego that he had to hurry. He had promised to go to the orphanage today to teach a physics lesson. He liked to share knowledge and to interest children in the inexhaustible source of wonders of nature.
Unfortunately, he'd to ride like Zorro all night. If only de Soto took responsibility for once and make sure his men got proper training.
Until now, De Soto had mainly given Zorro more work than he liked to have.

He had barely had time to visit the tavern this week. Neither as Zorro nor as Diego. And his father had been complaining again how frustrating it was that his only son showed more interested in the bookshelves than in running a rancho. How was he even to give his son the responsibility for the lands, animals and farmers he and his father had worked their entire lives so hard for, his father had muttered only two days ago.
Felipe, also present in the library at that moment, had only glared at the young don who, as usual, had tried to change the subject, claimed to be tired and wanting to go to bed early.
Diego had left the room, and his father felt more frustrated than before they started talking.
Sometimes it was just so discouraging.

His father, thinking so ill of him all the time.
De Soto only had to think he saw a glimpse of Zorro, and he sent twenty men out to chase him down.
But when a large group of bandits raided farms, robbed horses from ranchos or destroyed crops in their quest for money and valuables, the alcalde pretended not to hear or see anything.
Just last month, the lancers had turned the entire nearby Indian camp upside down because there was this rumour, one of the Indians had offered a small nugget of gold to one of the market salesmen.
When the padre had arrived in a panic three days later in the plaza that one of the orphans had gone missing after a little too enthusiastic game of hide-and-seek, De Soto had considered his tax calculation more important than the life of a child. He had refused to go search for the poor boy, saying he would turn up eventually. Boys will be boys, after all.
Zorro had finally found the boy in a half-collapsed mine shaft. Numb to the bone in the cold night. It had seemed like a good hiding place to the boy, and he had managed to squeeze through a small hole. Getting in had been easy, but getting out had proved to be impossible.
And then there was Victoria. What wouldn't he do for her?

By now, Diego had changed into his regular clothes and was thinking about the second sleepless night this week he had and a long day ahead of him. There was not much else to do about it, then keep his fingers crossed. And hope that around siesta time, there was the possibility to give his body a few hours of rest.
Diego slipped out the hidden door and stepped into the fireplace. Footsteps sounded in the distance.
In a trot, Diego ran to the bookcase, grabbing for the first book he saw, and opened it halfway.

"Diego?" His father sounded slightly surprised to see his son at this time in the morning. "What are you doing up so early?"

Searching for an excuse, he lifted the book a little further. "O, well, the padre is expecting me today at the orphanage for a lesson on physics. I wanted to read up on the matter a little more."

"Your right. That is today. I almost forgot." Alejandro had to admit to his son. "Good, son. It is very good of you to help padre Benitez, and I like to see you taking it so seriously. But, I didn't know Lord Byron had written physics books too." Alejandro burst out laughing. "Don't bother, Diego. We all have a guilty pleasure. Now, you go and hurry, or you'll be too late."

Shaking his head, Alejandro walked out of the library, leaving his son in amazement. Now that he finally had time to look at the title on the cover, Diego understood his mistake. Both of the books had a brown calf leather cover. The book he thought he had taken had black letters on its cover. The letters on this cover were golden.
But his father was right. He better hurry. Diego rushed to his room, where he found the bag of materials. Just as he had asked Felipe to prepare.
Then he walked past the kitchen, grabbing two apples to at least have something in his stomach.

Felipe came walking towards him. Hastily, Diego asked his confidant to continue caring for Toronado. Due to lack of time, he had given his horse water and hay, but the poor animal was still under saddle in his stable. Felipe said he understood the request and headed straight for the hidden cave.

Manuel had already saddled Esperanza, and a little later, Diego was on his way to the pueblo where the padre was eagerly waiting for him.

"Don Diego, buonas dias. I was beginning to think you forgot our appointment. The children are looking forward to seeing you."

Diego dismounted and tied Esperanza to the nearest post. "My apologies, Padre Benitez, it all took longer as planned. Buanos dias, by the way."

Together they walked to the entrance of the orphanage.
The padre smiled. "Young people, always in a hurry, thinking there isn't enough time in the day. I just gave the kids an early break in the hopes you'd come soon."

About 15 children were too busy playing to notice the arrival of the padre and the don.
One of the boys was wearing a black mask, and with a wooden stick representing a sword, he was playfully competing against the others. The boys and girls were all almost as easily overpowered as the real lancers.
"It's their favourite game. Zorro is their role model. They have a lot of admiration for our local bandit."

Diego smiled at the sight of such a fighting spirit and enthusiasm. "The stories circulating about Zorro do indeed inspire the fantasy."

The padre laughed at this comment. "As the years go by, they will naturally learn that there are many forms of heroism. Until then, let them enjoy being a child. The world is already so hard on them."

Diego's eye fell on a boy of about twelve years old, who was standing aside in a corner. He looked up at the children playing occasionally, but seemed more interested in the dust at his feet. Diego pointed to the boy. "I see that not all of them have Zorro as an example."

The padre looked in the direction Diego was pointing. "That's Paco. You are wrong, don Diego. He's the biggest admirer of them all. Unfortunately, he can never participate in the wilder games."

Diego looked questioningly at the padre.

"Paco can't use his legs properly. He limps. And that causes him to fall frequently, so Paco prefers to keep to himself. It's also a shame that because of his disability, he has no chance of ever being adopted into a family. He is a good boy and willing to give a helping hand any time."
The padre clapped his hands and immediately had the children's attention. "Your teacher for this morning has arrived. Let's go inside and find out what wonders Don Diego wants us to discover."

The enthusiasm of the children made Diego forget his fatigue for the moment. He showed some simple experiments using a few eggs.
He showed how you can test whether an egg is raw or cooked with the shell still on. Also, how strong the shape of an egg is. By placing eggs in 4 egg cups and having the children stack books on top of them. He encouraged all the children to try and squeeze an egg lengthwise. Which, of course, none of them succeeded. "And this shows how something as fragile as an egg can be strong."
One of the boys insisted that Zorro was strong enough to crush an egg that way.

Diego had brought along several prints of ancient buildings. To show that in the distant past, people already knew the different strengths of different forms.

He concluded with a trick that impressed all the children. He asked Paco to assist him, and as the boy walked to the table in the front of the room. Diego observed if he could discover the reason why the boy was limping. Diego showed how to get a whole peeled egg into a carafe without breaking the egg, and that only by using a small piece of cloth and a flame. The children were astonished. Diego had to promise the children to come back soon and show more of such experiments. He willingly made the promise and told he then would explain what a vacuum is.

Afterwards, the padre and children thanked the young don for his time.

Then the fatigue hit Diego hard, and his stomach rumbled after a strenuous night and a skipped breakfast.
Diego was in doubt about what to do. Go home to rest for a few hours? Or settle for a little less rest, but instead enjoy a delicious lunch and the hope of catching a glimpse of Victoria?
His feet had made the decision for him. Because before Diego knew, he was standing in front of the doorway of the tavern. Upon entering, he got greeted by the tavern owner with a beaming smile.
He ordered a coffee and a portion of rice with chicken and sat down at his favourite table.

Diego allowed himself the pleasure of staring at Victoria unmolested. When she brought him the order, he got a detailed account of Zorro's nighttime experiences. How, sergeant Mendoza had found the bandits who had robbed farms north of the pueblo, tied in the plaza fountain. All of them carrying the mark of the famous outlaw she admired. "And what have you been up to this morning?" She decided in a derogatory way, probably because, as Diego, he wasn't known for doing much other than loitering, reading, and other things his father invariably labelled as useless.

"I've been to the orphanage. Padre Benitez asked me to tell the children some simple things about physics."

"Oh, that sounds interesting."
Diego saw by her face that this was a lie.
"The padre does what he can, but I wish those poor children had a loving family life." A tinge of pity passed over Victoria's face.

Diego could only confirm this. "Yes, that would be better for everyone. The padre told me that he does what he can to find a good place for most children. But it is hard. Most people in the territory have a hard enough time taking care of their own children. It is only logical, I presume they want to feed their mouths before taking care for one more.
And then there are the children like Paco, who has a disability. The padre told me it is almost impossible to find him a family. The majority of people taking in an orphan wants a healthy, strong and normal child. Whatever that is."
Diego let out a deep sigh. Outwardly thoughtlessly, Diego sipped his coffee. While in reality, his thoughts spinning madly about how to help Paco.

Victoria's voice brought him back to the here-and-now.
"That is sad when you come to think about it. Those are the children who need it the most. Look at Felipe. He can not speak and hear, but he is one of the best men I know. Hadn't you and your father taken him in, who knows what would have become of him."

Diego agreed with her. "And I still don't know who was the lucky one. Felipe had given us much in return, as he still does." And in his mind Diego continued and you don't even know the half of it.

Victoria had go on with picking up the empty glassware and dishes on the table next to him and was pounding a load. "Actually, I could use some help on Saturday. Maybe Paco can do some small jobs here. Then people can see that he can do everything despite his disability. It might help in finding him a family. I mean he can walk, can he? He could swipe the porch and clean the tables that sort of things."

"I am sure those things won't be any problem for him. It sounds like an excellent idea." Diego took some pesos from his pocket and placed them on the table. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going home. Gracias for lunch, it tasted great."

"you are welcome, Don Diego. And, goodbye."

"Goodbye, Victoria."

Fifteen minutes later, Diego was back at the hacienda. His father was somewhere in the fields, checking the wells. It gave him the opportunity to catch up on a few hours of sleep.
Just two hours later, he was wide awake again and went into the cave. Paco kept going on in his head. He wanted to do something for the boy so that he could play along with his friends, and have a chance to end up somewhere where he would be part of a family.

Diego knew that the padre made strict demands on the families who took in one of his orphans. There were too many stories of people adopting children just to use them as some kind of slave. That's why Padre Benitez made sure every child placed in a family was a family he knew.
Perhaps he should examine Paco himself to find out exactly what was wrong with the boy. Maybe then he could think of something.

Felipe entered the cave and demanded a detailed account of Zorro's escapades that night. After Diego told Felipe everything that had happened the conversation turned to Paco.

Felipe knew the boy and said he was a quiet, friendly boy. Who was happy to help the padre and that he was idolizing Zorro.

"That's most of the children in the village. Just like many of the adults, by the way." Diego sighs, actually referring mainly to his father and Victoria.

Felipe heard the undertone and let Diego know what he thought.

"Yes, I know you think I should confide in father and Victoria. But they're both so impulsive that I'm afraid the chance of either accidentally giving away what they know is too risky."

Felipe shrugged and gestured. *That's what you think.*

It was nearly dark when his father returned home, tired and hungry. The old don grumbled at his son when Diego later had to take over the responsibility for the hacienda, he needed to show more interest.

Diego, still longing for a good night's sleep, listened to it all dutifully, and as soon as time permitted, he wished his father good night.

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