Chapter 5:

Diego took a seat on nearby brimstone sticking out like a rock, looking at the letter in his hand. His finger followed the lines of his name written on the envelope, clearly recognizing Victoria's elegant handwriting. Had she figured it out by his move? Was this her way of rejecting him? If so, he would ask Lucifer to stop searching and let him live in the Hell where he wasn't going to need to watch Victoria go on with her life. He had absolutely no clue how much she suffered while taking care of his almost lifeless body.

He sighed again before he opened the letter and started to read:

"My dearest Diego,

First of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done for the pueblo but also I want to thank you for what you did for me, for taking that bullet even if I want to scold you so badly for being an idiot, giving up your life for mine, for even thinking that I would never love the man behind the mask. To be honest, I think I loved you from the start. I just didn't want to admit it because falling for you would mean falling for the son of the richest Don in California, for falling way above my class, which would mean that I would never be able to have you. I know you probably are rolling your eyes right now because your father already told me that they didn't care that I was a lower class, he didn't care that my dad wasn't a wealthy caballero and he told me that you wouldn't care either.

While Felipe said that you would probably say to me that although you were a caballero, you were still an outlaw. Even though technically that's true, for me you are a hero, not only when you wear the mask, but also as Diego. As Zorro, you save the day with fighting but as Diego, you are as much a hero. While you save the people as Zorro, you take care of them as Diego with your knowledge. Helping them in new ways you have discovered. You are a hero, Diego, with or without the mask. You have such a big heart that you don't deserve to be in the place you are now, even if like your friend said, you are as comfortable as you possibly can.

You probably also already know about the fact that Desoto knows who you are. I hope your angel friend is honest and that he won't let anything happen to you if he can help it because although there is so much I want to say to you, the thoughts about losing you one way or another are unbearable. I hate the thought that I would gain you only to lose you to the Alcalde's noose.

Maybe it's hard for you to believe but I do love the man and not the legend. My tears run freely as I write this letter to you. I miss you so much, Diego De La Vega. Please come back to me.

Remember you are always in my heart,

With lots of love and yours forever,

Victoria.

Diego placed the letter in his lap and sighed, for the first time wiping a tear out of his eye since he landed in Hell. This letter was making him feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy because Victoria loved him, not the legend, not the mask he was wearing but sad because now it hit him how much he missed the people he cared about on earth.

He truly deeply hoped that Lucifer would find a way to bring him back if only he could tell her how much she means to him, just how deep his love for her ran.

Tempest neighed at him. His master had ordered him to care for this soul. It was a strange request but something how oddly it may sound for a stallion of Hell he didn't find the task difficult.

Diego grinned, "You know you share more trades with Toronado than you think, Tempest."

The stallion looked curiously at him. Never was a soul so gentle with him. Never was a soul not scared around him. He did like that feeling. Was he getting soft?

Diego looked at the stallion and somehow knew what he was thinking, "I know you aren't used to being treated like this by a mere soul but trust me you aren't becoming soft. Toronado would think that too at the beginning of our partnership but if I learned something is that friendship between partners whether animal or human, demon or devil, makes you stronger.

"My stallion was… is fierce but loyal only showing the soft side to humans he respects and who he cares about. His fierceness was shown to the humans we fought against. He quickly received the name devil's beast." Diego smiled, " I don't know who they are more afraid of me or my horse. On the other side, he saved my life many times, more than I can probably remember. If you had been on earth you would probably have been family of him."

The young don stood up and walked to the stable. He placed his hand in the stallion's neck, the flames of his manes were feeling hot but weren't hurting him. "Same as Toronado you let me caress you when I feel down, which is special knowing where we are and that you are used to souls feeling down and miserable. Do you think it would be a good idea to write a letter back to Victoria? Or should I wait and see if I could tell her myself?"

Tempest rolled his head as a sign that he didn't know what to do either.

"Maybe I will wait some more. I hope that I can take one of these drawings with me as a reminder that you helped me through tough times here in Hell and probably will for some time." Diego sighed while he brushed the stallion. The letter was safely tucked away in the pocket of his pants.

Diego had drawn a beautiful picture of Tempest with the hope that he could bring it with him if he ever went back to earth but while drawing it dawned to him that there was a big chance that he was going to be stuck here forever. He took a feather Lucifer had given him, one of his beautiful, white medium sized ones, to write if he had the urge to do so.

He sighed before he started to write,

"My dear Victoria, my sweet querida,

If you have read this letter it probably means that my friend didn't find a way to bring me back to earth. I want you to know that no other woman had ever been of any interest to me. You are the only one that has a place inside my heart and don't blame yourself for me taking that bullet. I would do it again in an instance. If I remember well, you once did the same for him. So I know how you feel.

Also, know that I didn't care and still don't care about classes. We live in a little village not the big cities like Madrid. Even there, I would have fallen head over heels for your beauty. Not only on the outside but also on the inside as well. I am still an outlaw, Victoria, a man with a prize on my head.

You don't have to thank me for just doing what I thought was right. I never had the idea of continuing this masquerade for so long. If I am honest with you and with myself, I am no more a hero than you or the other good people of Los Angeles. No, the reason I started in the first place was for a very selfish reason, to help you and my father out of the clutches of our former Alcalde. You probably remember the night when he appeared for the very first time. You were immediately smitten by him, I saw it in your eyes. I, on the other hand, lost my heart the first time I entered the tavern again after being away for so long. I didn't understand that such a beauty was still a senorita and hadn't found a nice man to live with.

Over the years I was more and more trapped in the ruse of both masks I was wearing, whether visible or not. I wanted to tell you more than once, end this whole ordeal but something inside me always stopped me from doing so. It was the fear of your rejection, of the fact that you only so him and not me. The fear of what would happen if it became a knowledge that you knew my identity. Now I know that those fears were wrong. You see even I can be afraid, from time to time.

Still, as I sit here in this replica cave watching Tempest, Lucifer's stallion, which looks oddly a lot like his, munching some sort of food that is probably typical for this place. A drawing I made from your beautiful face lying beside me. I write you this letter still in the hope that everything will turn out just fine.

Regarding Lucifer, he never lied to me. He could have let me suffer in what he calls a hell loop but he didn't, I know he can't make a paradise out of Hell but still, he made the suffering as little as he possibly could. If he told you that he would do anything in his power to help me, you have to believe him. Have as much trust in him as you have in me, in both sides of me, even if it's against everything the church ever told us.

One more thing before I close my letter, my love. If there is really nothing that can be done, live your life and find love again. I will try and see if I can leave this place to wait for you on the other side. Oh, and if something happens, make sure that Toronado gets his place to retire on my father's ranch. He deserves it.

I will always love you, Querida, and I will never stop thinking about you.

Yours Forever and Always,

Diego."

Diego sighed and closed the letter and wrote Victoria's name on it.

"I really hope I did the right thing by writing this, Tempest, I really do," Diego said while leaning his head against the wall. He hoped Lucifer would find a way to bring him back soon before he lost all faith that he still had.

TBC