Author's note: Once again, thank you to my invaluable translators: Jan, Kasia, and Cris, for translating and making sure the next chapter was published.

Disclaimer: I do not own characters and I don't make any profits on writing.

Chapter. 2. Refuge

Zorro supported the young woman slumping to the ground.

"Dios, Victoria," he groaned. He was not surprised that she had fainted. He himself at the moment was more than happy to sit on the ground as he felt that his legs would fail him in any minute. Never before in his life had he been so frightened as now. Fortunately, he managed to stop her. Now she was unconscious, but safe.

He gathered his strength and got up to carry the taverness closer to the tree trunk, where the dew had not yet appeared on the fallen leaves. He noticed with alarm that her skin was starting to feel cool and damp. This was more than a simple faint. She must have been at the end of her tether, and his intervention was too much of a shock for her. The saddle was lying next to her, so he looked into the bag beside it, hoping to find a shawl or a scarf that would protect her at least a little from the night chill. However, he found nothing. That, as well as the fact that Victoria was wearing her everyday blouse and skirt, made him realize that her trip had only one purpose.

One whistle and Tornado ran up to his master. Then, at his gesture, the stallion obediently knelt down. Zorro wrapped the unconscious woman in his cloak and placed her in front of him on the saddle. Before they could move on, he noticed in the falling dusk that the noose was still hanging from a branch. He drew his sword. Two quick movements, and the cut rope fell to the ground onto the scattered branches.

They rushed into the night.

xxx

They were not far from the ravine and the entrance to the cave, when Victoria moved weakly. Zorro immediately stopped Tornado.

"Querida?" He asked.

Her face was a pale blur in the darkness as she lifted her head to look at him. He felt her muscles tighten as she realized where and with whom she was. However, he was not prepared for what followed.

Victoria burst into tears. She began to sob desperately, all the more painfully in the complete silence surrounding them. She didn't even say a word.

He clutched her tighter to him. He felt her trembling, her shivers shaking her, so he urged Tornado to move to the cave.

"No... ", Victoria suddenly sobbed.

"Victoria?" He became concerned.

"Not the pueblo…"

"I have no intention of taking you there", he answered in such a cold tone that she raised her head in surprise and looked at him. "You will be my guest."

It did not calm her down; on the contrary, she was crying and trembling more and more violently. Fortunately, they were already reaching the cave.

xxx

Felipe looked up from his book when Tornado's hooves rattled in the rocky corridor. Zorro was coming back. Interestingly though, the boy noticed, he could hear something more than just horse hooves. Although, as far as Felipe could judge, Zorro was in a great hurry. In a moment, a rider emerged from the dark passage. To Felipe's amazement and horror, he saw a tear streaked, weeping Victoria in his arms.

Zorro jumped down from the saddle and led the woman to a chair by the desk.

"Felipe, quickly! We need to prepare herbs for her."

The boy looked at him in amazement. The last time, Zorro did everything to hide his presence in the cave. Fortunately, Victoria did not seem to notice him. She stared blankly ahead and trembled as if in a fever attack.

"Felipe, she is staying here." There was desperation in Zorro's voice. "Please help me. I need a blanket for her."

Without any further delay, Felipe rushed upstairs to get the blankets. When he returned, Zorro was just finishing putting together the mattresses, and water was warming in a small pot. Victoria was still shivering, rocking back and forth. Felipe wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, but she didn't respond to his touch. He signed urgently to Zorro.

"After, Felipe! After! Now we need to warm her up. Brew the herbs!"

Felipe pointed to the table and the standing dishes.

"No, no cactus tea. Too weak. Take the stronger ones, the sleeping ones." Zorro forced the taverness to stand up and led her to the bed, where he wrapped her in blankets. He began arranging stones heated on the stove next to her. "She needs to get warm," he said again. "I will take care of the herbs, Felipe, and you bring some more pillows."

When the infusion was ready and cooled down, Zorro sat down beside the young woman and began to wipe her face with a wet cloth, washing away her tears. These treatments had an effect. Victoria sighed and looked at him. For a moment, she stared blankly, then opened her mouth.

"Shh…" Zorro touched her lips. "Not a word."

She stared at him stubbornly.

"Oh, querida…", he sighed. The word seemed to stir something in the exhausted woman. She grimaced painfully.

"Not a word," Zorro repeated his warning. He reached to his side and picked up the cup containing the infusion. "Please, whatever you want to tell me, it can wait. Now drink this. You'll fall asleep and forget for a while", he said softly, bringing the mug close to her lips.

She took a sip and made a face of disgust. But she continued to drink, stubbornly, sip after sip, until she emptied the cup. Zorro put it down and gently stroked her cheek.

"Sleep, mi querida," he whispered. "Get some rest. We will talk tomorrow."

She grabbed his hand and closed her eyes.

Felipe took the cup from Zorro and put it down on the table, then took care of the cleaning. After a while, seeing that the older man was still not moving from the bed, he poked him on the shoulder.

"Yes?" Zorro raised his head. The boy moved his hand around the cave.

The masked man looked around. Tornado in his corner was already fed and groomed. The cape dropped on the ground was on a hanger. Dishes, herbs - everything was gathered and put together. And the boy was standing in front of him expectantly.

"Would you like an explanation?"

Felipe nodded.

"Victoria was very lucky that I followed her." Zorro's voice suddenly broke. The man stroked the sleeping woman's hand.

Felipe patted him on the shoulder, a little to give him encouragement, a little to get his attention. Then he played a little pantomime.

"No, not the bandits... Not the accident... She…" There was immeasurable weariness and sadness in Zorro's voice. "She was trying to die, Felipe."

The boy's hands dropped. Slowly, as if not believing his eyes, he approached the bed and knelt down. He lightly brushed Victoria's cheek with his fingertips. Then he turned to his guardian and signed again.

"Why?"

Again the boy nodded.

"I don't know, Felipe. Or rather, I know…" Zorro thoughtfully pulled the mask off his face and lowered his head. The boy had to get closer to him to hear what he was saying. "That day... I made a mistake, Felipe." Zorro raised his head. "Terrible mistake. I believed what I heard, what De Soto said. I didn't insist enough for her to explain herself. Neither as Zorro, nor as Diego. She must have felt abandoned by everyone…"

Felipe patted him on the shoulder once more.

"You think it'll be okay?" The boy nodded. "I don't know, Felipe. You see... She did a lot to make sure that no one would know what happen to her. Nobody, do you understand? If I hadn't wanted to talk to her again, if I hadn't seen her go the other way…"

Zorro rested his head on his hands. He couldn't tell the boy how scared he was and how guilty he felt about what had happened. If he had believed what she had said about the trip to Santa Barbara and let her go without trying to talk to her… If he had not followed her, seeing that she was going the other way… If he had hesitated at the entrance to the valley, thinking that someone else would come to meet Victoria... If he had crept more cautiously and slowly to see why she had gone there… If he had waited a moment longer before deciding to approach her... If, if, if... The possibilities swarmed and multiplied, and for each of them there was only one answer. Right now he would be holding a dead body in his arms, instead of hiding his beloved in a cave watching her as she was sleeping due to some herbs.

And now, in his safe haven, he had to admit that he was at fault. What happened might have had many causes, but his contribution and fault were indisputable. He could have not shown how much her words hurt him that day. He could have come back one more time, and kidnap her from the pueblo, take her out somewhere where they could talk freely. As Diego, he could have been more persistent in finding out the truth and not let her slip away with half-words. He was sure that if she had known that he still loved her, was still her friend, she would not have taken such a step.

Felipe must have noticed his shaking hands again, or understood something of what was happening to him. He reassuredly patted his hand once more, and after a moment he hugged him, just like when he was a child. Zorro wrapped his arms around him, trying to stop the parade of unwanted thoughts.

"It's okay, Felipe," he finally said. "We have to hide her here and try to help her somehow."

He thought for a moment longer.

"Felipe..." he uttered. "We will have to keep an eye on her."

The boy gestured questioningly.

"It was so unlike her... I'm afraid she could try again, do you understand?"

The horror reflected on Felipe's face, as he looked at the peacefully sleeping Victoria.

"While she is asleep, we have time. But when she does get better, we'll have to figure something out."

Felipe gently picked up Zorro's mask from the floor and ran his fingers over it.

"Yes, Zorro will be watching over her," the masked man promised.

Felipe denied it. He pointed to the exit, then to the hanger with Diego's outfit, then he started gesturing "Don Alejandro".

"Father? He could help? Take her upstairs, to the hacienda? I'm not sure, Felipe, if we can manage there... Besides... I don't want anyone to know about what happened."

The boy nodded his head vehemently. After that raid by the soldiers, Victoria had been surrounded by widespread aversion, so the news of what she had tried to do would turn her into a complete outcast. He began to sign again.

"Felipe... Are you saying that I should stop hiding?" Zorro asked incredulously.

A sharp nod.

"But…"

Another sign pointing to the sleeping taverness.

"Father will help me, and she will feel better knowing who I am?"

Nod.

"Yes, it might prove to her that I never left her…"

Felipe sympathetically stroked Zorro's sleeve. "Everything will work out", he seemed to say. "We'll do our best and everything will work out. It will be all right." He jerked his head up at once and began signing.

"What? A letter? Did you get a letter for me today? From her?"

Zorro looked at the sleeping Victoria. He didn't want to leave her, but this letter could turn out to be an explanation for the deeds and a good beginning of a conversation with his father.

"She will sleep until morning…" he eventually said in a low tone. "Will you stay with her, Felipe? I will be back soon, probably with my father."

The boy nodded.

To be continued.

From the author: Thank you all for your comments! Don Alejandro enters the scene.