My laptop is broken, so I had to do it on my phone and tablet. I shortened the chapter. I apologize, but I wanted to finish before I go on holiday. Maybe I will rewrite is someday.

Chapter 22

Diego was right. The letter got sent to Santa Barbara, and that same week, emissary Bernardo Guerta arrived in the pueblo.
The emissary was a tall, handsome man with brown hair, and he looked vaguely familiar to Victoria. Something that got soon clarified. Señor Guerta turned out to have already visited Los Angeles a few weeks earlier while travelling with his brothers to Monterey.
On the day de Soto had tried to flog Felipe, Bernardo Guerta had been the one to prevent Victoria from meeting the same fate and force De Soto to end his brutal sentence.

Diego greeted his friend and invited him to stay at the hacienda.
While during dinner, old memories were recalled of a long voyage crossing half the globe and sailing two oceans, which had been the beginning of a friendship.
During the digestive, the conversation turned to the current state of affairs in the small pueblo. And why Diego had called his friend for help.|
Emissary Guerta agreed that if the fraud could be proved, there would be consequences for de Soto and his position.

The following morning, Diego and the emissary went to Los Angeles, where Señor Guerta ordered access at the pueblo cash register.
Mendoza, lightly overwhelmed with this request, did as he was told and could not help but compliment his superior's excellent calculation skills.
Diego felt compelled to explain that the sergeant's maths skills were limited by too few years of education.

Four Lancers got sent out to inform alcalde de Soto and his bride of a high ranked officer arriving in the pueblo. And the man was eager to discuss de Soto and his way of leadership.
As soon as de Soto was within the municipal boundaries, he got arrested on suspicion of embezzlement.
His surprise was obvious, and de Soto tried numerous times to explain to the emissary that there was absolutely no question of fraud. But only from a clumsy misunderstanding. At the same time, De Soto was feverishly trying to figure out why the masked outlaw had not been seen since that day, now weeks ago.

In a brief moment of doubt and despair, it even crossed his mind that Victoria Escalante's unexpected husband might be Zorro.
Immediately relegated his ridiculous idea to the background. If Diego de la Vega was Zorro, he was the king of Spain. The idea is too absurd for words. That worthless, stupid no brain could not stand in the shadow of that overconfident, annoying meddler.
Besides, de Soto was far too intelligent to be so easily tricked by some idiot with more arrogance than brains. If Don Diego is Zorro, he, Ignacio de Soto, would have discovered it sooner than Mendoza could swallow a tamale. He was not some crazy fool easy to deceive!

Unlike many others before him, de Soto got a fair trial. But the evidence was too obvious and piled up. Annabella used all her charms to convince the emissary that the only right decision for her husband would be acquittal. She could live with only a nominal father for her child. But the idea that her husband was a convicted criminal filled her with disgust and horror. She would rather be the widow of a war veteran.
De Soto, beginning to see that his cause was hopelessly lost, began to lose hope and feared for his life or a life sentence.

Bernardo Guerta was not a malevolent man. And after Diego made a plea that de Soto had recently married and hoped to become a father soon, a fact that could no longer be concealed. The demanded prison sentence was commuted to lifelong banishment from the Alte California Territory.
De Soto and his wife were escorted by two soldiers to a ship, taking them south.

Shortly afterwards, Bernardo said goodbye to the de la Vega's.

Alejandro, Felipe stood a short distance away, while Victoria stood next to Diego, shaking hands with Bernardo.

Bernardo was sorry to have to say goodbye to a man he considered a good friend so soon. "It feels good to be able to change things for the better. I will recommend the Governor write out elections. And in addition, I will advise lifting the reward on Zorro's head. The man is almost certainly dead. I fear the bounty money will mainly attract men with the wrong ideas, and I wish Los Angeles a fresh start."

Diego smiled broadly. "Thank you, Bernardo, for everything."

"You're welcome, Diego. I accepted the position in the hope of doing something about the many injustices in California. I feel like I got off to a good start this week."
Bernardo stepped back and turned to Don Alejandro to say goodbye to the old Don too. "I'm only sorry I didn't see your local hero in action. I was looking forward to it after your stories. If even half of the rumours I've heard are true, then it must have been an impressive sight to see Zorro in action."

Alejandro beamed at the compliments Bernardo unknowingly gave his son. "It certainly was, Señor Guerta. Consider yourself invited to visit us again, shortly. I will be happy to share all my stories about Zorro with you. It pains me that Zorro is gone. Although I did not always agree with him, he has done a lot of good. I would have liked to have known his identity."

Bernardo laughed and said."Don Alejandro, some things you better not know. Suppose I now found out his identity. I should still have to arrest him.
Diego, keep me informed and do not hesitate to write to me when necessary.
Don Alejandro, I would like to come back in the spring. Not only to hear your stories, but also to buy some of your magnificent horses. I am impressed by their beauty and appearance. I think they belong to the finest in California."

Alejandro's chest seemed twice as wide by hearing all those compliments. "Don Bernardo, thank you for the compliment. Yes, I am proud of all my horses. They are all beautiful animals."

Bernardo Guerta saluted for the last time, mounted his horse and a few seconds later, he gave the spurs and took off.

Victoria stared after the man who had brought desired change. "So, eh," she began, "Zorro is gone forever?

Diego responding to it. "It looks like that."

Her eyes found Diego's. "Can you live with how he met his end? There is a good chance his deeds will get forgotten."

Diego looked at the woman making his life complete, "The stories involving Zorro will get told time and time again. Who knows, maybe Zorro will inspire others to stand up where injustice reigns.
He might even become legendary."

Alejandro and Felipe joined the couple. A cloud of dust in the distance was barely visible.

Alejandro swallowed a lump. "Son, to me, Zorro is already legendary. And I look forward to telling my grandchildren the stories of how a masked man saved the lives of myself and many others so many times." Alejandro glared at his son. His eyes looked watery. "I don't think I've ever thanked you. Now is a good time as any. Thank you, son, for everything."
Alejandro slapped his hand on his son's shoulder a few times, then walked back into the hacienda.

Felipe came up in front of Diego and Victoria and started signing.

Diego shook his head. "No, Felipe." hugging the boy. "Thank you for your unconditional support and trust. Zorro could never have existed without you. He is as much a part of you as a part of me."

Victoria and Diego's honeymoon went to Mexico City. They accompanied Felipe on his journey to the southern city where he was to attend university, never given up his wish to become a lawyer.

Years later, Diego heard that de Soto and Annabella lived in Loreto. They were now the parents of no fewer than five daughters. He hoped this meant that de Soto and Annabella had made their marriage a success.
He considered himself a lucky man. Not only was he married to the woman he loved more than life itself, but she also loved him.
Their marriage got blessed with several children. It was much to the old don's delight.

Life in Los Angeles was never dull. And frequently, Diego helped people improve life in Los Angeles with tiny adjustments that made huge differences.
In one thing, don Alejandro and Bernardo Guerta were right. Those who had ever seen Zorro never grew tired of telling stories of what it was like to see the hero in action.
Just as the new generation never grew tired of listening to the stories of the illustrious hero.

Zorro became a legend.

.

.

The end.

Overviewing the whole story, I think the pen was mightier than the sword three times.
First, Diego by writing Victoria poems.
Second, de Soto using a pen for his fraud, Zorro not stepping in.
In the end, it was a letter putting an end to de Soto being the alcalde.

Everyone, thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you liked it.