Author's note: Thank you Kasia and Iga, for allowing me to share the English translation of my text with you."
Disclaimer: I do not own characters and I don't make any profits on writing.
The consequences
Prologue. Treason
The alcalde of Los Angeles, Ignacio de Soto, grimaced with disgust. His old acquaintance, Rodrigo Monsangre, the captain of the royal lancers, had just landed hard on the ground. When he got up, he was holding his dangling inert arm. Well, next time, he will not reproach Ignacio for his inability to deal with one outlaw. It took more than a few armed zealots to reach Zorro.
Because right now Zorro was taking down one enemy after another. Well-trained soldiers, the pride of the Royal Army, were lying on the square, staining their white uniforms with sand. They had lost to the black-clad outlaw.
De Soto laughed. Rodrigo was just learning the bitter lesson that Zorro could not be underestimated. After all, the outlaw did not only defeat the lancers, both those who remained to guard the missionary school and those who occupied the garrison barracks. He also managed to bring the abbot of the Santa Barbara mission to Los Angeles overnight. The clergyman was armed with documents that deprived Captain Monsangre of any chance to continue the trade. From his seat at the gate, the alcalde saw the Indian kids from the church school, whom Rodrigo wanted to sell for service in Mexico, slipping out of the plaza into the caring arms of padre Benitez, free and safe.
Yes, Rodrigo lost the bet. But he, de Soto, could still reach Zorro.
He yanked the wobbly young lady from behind the gate wing. Señorita Escalante looked in horror at the scene in the square. The previous day, before the soldiers started playing with her for good, Lieutenant Monsangre, probably inspired by some impulse of pity, had drunk her almost unconscious with cheap brandy. Now she was still dazed and weak. Ignacio laughed again. The owner of the tavern was the only person in the pueblo who did not allow Rodrigo's soldiers to intimidate her. She even dared to enter the garrison and demand the release of the detained children. Unfortunately for her, Monsagre had no intention of giving up his planned entertainment, and de Soto was unwilling to interfere. He was a little disgusted with the captain's ideas for evening entertainment; after all, Indian children were taken from the mission, but Señorita Escalante was a different case. Aside from the fact that she was a grown woman, de Soto, like Monsagre, had no intention of letting her escape with another insolence. Too many times she had defied his orders for him to now deny himself the sight of her humiliation. Or, as it soon turned out, the other pleasures that had become available to him thanks to Rodrigo. He also understood that fate and Monsangre had put weapons against Zorro into his hands.
And now, the time to use it has come.
"Do you see him?" he hissed in her ear.
She nodded and jerked as she felt the barrel of the gun on her ribs.
"When he sees you, repeat my words."
"No!"
He smiled. Despite everything she had been through, Señorita Escalante was still a wildcat. The night with Monsangre and his subordinates did not make her claws any less sharp. Well, she was about to receive a lesson.
"Five men are sitting on the roof. They'll shoot him if he rushes to your rescue. How long do you think he will be dying? Will you die first?" He increased the pressure on the barrel. "This will bring him here..."
He felt her stiffening with tension. He had no men in the ambush, his soldiers were still sleeping in the rooms of the inn where Rodrigo's lancers had thrown them, but she didn't know it. Dazed with alcohol, exhausted, she could no longer think logically or plan. She believed him.
"Hey, Zorro!" de Soto shouted as the black-clad rider knocked over the last soldier. "Look who has hosted us here!"
Zorro froze. From his seat, de Soto clearly saw the outlaw staring at the young lady. He also knew that Victoria Escalante, in a heavily wrinkled and stained blouse and skirt, flushed from the brandy she had drunk, with disheveled hair, looked like someone who had spent a very busy and social night.
"Tell him you've had enough of him," he hissed in Victoria's ear. He confirmed his words with the poke of the gun. She flinched and threw her head back, black curls dancing around her face.
"I've had enough of you!" she repeated obediently, her voice breaking.
"I needed a man..."
"I needed a man!"
"I found many…"
"I found many!"
She began to tremble. De Soto understood that she was on the verge of her strength and would not repeat his words.
But words were not needed. Zorro stared at her, petrified, indifferent to the soldiers who rose from the ground and approached him. If he keep standing here longer, Ignacio thought, my exile will soon be over. To draw Zorro's attention even more, he pulled the girl towards him and kissed her neck while pressing the gun down, making her understand that she was to stand still. The terrified señorita's legs bowed under her. Looking from the side, it must have seemed as if she had weakened under the influence of a kiss.
"Forgive me, Zorro! But she's too good to be only yours!" cried de Soto.
The soldiers were very close to the masked rider when suddenly his horse tucked his ears against him, neighed wildly and reared. The fact that he could barely remain in the saddle indicated how shaken Zorro was. But that woke him up from his lethargy. He knocked over a few of the closest enemies and rushed like a wind towards the exit of the pueblo.
Ignacio de Soto let Señorita Escalante kneel, and was laughing heartily. Zorro had just been successfully driven out of Los Angeles. And the proud señorita will not make the inhabitants of the pueblo quickly forget her speech. They will remember everything. The night she spent in the garrison, the words she said to Zorro, and how she knelt beside him, the alcalde, like an obedient slave. He, in turn, will ensure that this image is preserved.
To be continued.