AN: While it's a stand-alone story, this little Christmas-themed account is, in fact, integrated into the series of post-show-finale stories I have written. Inspired by "A Christmas Carol" it is centered around Ignacio de Soto, rather than around Zorro – but, on the other hand, it is kinda' also centered around Diego so…
PS: It will also be part of the Of Men and Legends story integrating every previously-written episode of the series and adding some more.
Disclaimer: This story is inspired by the NWZ TV series and it is dedicated to all the fans out there. It is not intended to infringe on the copyrights held by Goodman/Rosen Production, New World Television, Zorro Productions, FAM, the estate of Johnston McCulley or on any others who might have a legal claim on the characters. The ideas, however, are my own.
Reviews are appreciated!
The present story is a reviewed and improved version of the one published earlier this year.
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'Twas the day before Christmas when all through the house,
Not an outlaw was stirring, not even a fox.
The Tavern was ready, adorned with care,
For the night's fiesta to bring people there.
ZZZ
Ignacio de Soto had spent most of the day brooding in his office, cursing Zorro in his mind for his continued interference with his plans of returning home, to Spain. He should have left years earlier, six months after his arrival, at the most. Yet there he still was, wasting his life in that outpost called Los Angeles, which was too small, too far away, too different from his beloved Madrid, too filled with supporters of the outlaw calling himself The Fox.
Zorro! The man who insisted on meddling with every good plan Ignacio took days, even weeks, to concoct. The worst thing about that situation? He didn't even know his foe's true name. Of course, if he would have known it, the bandit would no longer be alive to defy him.
Every alcalde knows exactly who he is chasing. De Soto considered. The Brothers Ramirez took a long time and a Presidio Commander sent from Spain to get captured, but they were caught! After about five years, true… But there were more of them and only one Zorro; and he's been plaguing the territory for eight years already! Just because of that mask and his obsession to keep his identity a secret! For all I know of Zorro, I might go into the tavern and stare straight at him without even realizing I was doing it! He considered. "No… I doubt he dares to show his face around town! Everyone here would recognize his voice, if not his face!" He uttered, just for himself, then remembered that he had forgotten to eat his lunch, so he decided to head to the tavern, hoping Mendoza hadn't finished all the food the Victoria Escalante had prepared.
ZZZ
"Buenas tardes, Alcalde! What may I get for you?" The taverness asked as De Soto entered with a frown on his face, as if there was something particularly annoying about Christmas.
"Buenas tardes, Senorita! Do you, by any chance have some carne asada left today?" He asked in a gloomy tone.
"I do. I'll fix you a plate right away, Alcalde!" She accepted his order and hurried to the kitchen while De Soto took a seat at one of the empty tables.
"Buenas tardes, Alcalde!" Diego de la Vega greeted him as he was exiting the cellar with a basket filled with wine bottles.
"Don Diego! I see you keep yourself busy. Happy are those who have nothing better to do!" Ignacio remarked, mockingly.
"I am just helping Victoria with the preparations for tonight's party. Will you be joining us?" Diego replied, doing his best to ignore his tone and deciding to forgive his remark since it was, after all, Christmas.
He left the basket filled with bottles on the bar for Pilar, Victoria's helper, to dust and put away in the cupboard, then turned towards his former schoolmate.
"No... such gatherings are not for me! I never liked these Christmas parties." De Soto informed him.
"Never? But I distinctly remember having seen you at one of the Christmas parties organized by the University while in Madrid!" Diego replied, as Pilar rewarded his effort by offering him a glass of orange juice.
"Please, Diego! We only studied together for one year while in university and that was a long time ago!" De Soto pointed out, annoyed with the caballero. "Your memory must be playing tricks on you!"
"That is indeed possible, Ignacio. Still...I remember you were there with Rafa..." He tried to continue, but De Soto interrupted him.
"No one! It was no one, since I rarely attended such events! I have never really been fond of the holidays! It's always been my belief that they are nothing but an excuse to overindulge oneself! And, in Los Angeles, may I remind you, Christmas is also an opportunity for that… menace to society dressed in black to commit some other mischief!" De Soto informed him.
"You don't expect Zorro to make an appearance at the fiesta, do you, Alcalde?" Diego faked being concerned. "I mean, he has certainly done that before, so… it is possible. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if you'd have Mendoza and some of your lancers guard the tavern, just to be ready... In case he shows up. I, for one, would feel much safer! And, who knows, Ignacio? Perhaps the Sergeant might even catch him this time!" He suggested, knowing that the Alcalde had, just that morning, forbidden Mendoza and his men to attend the party, inventing instead some useless tasks for them to perform.
"Mendoza capture Zorro?! Ha! Really, what an idea, Diego!" The Alcalde answered. "If Zorro shows up, puts himself in chains and surrenders to Mendoza, the Sergeant will probably just let him go because of all this Christmas nonsense! It is enough I have agreed to give some of my men the day off tomorrow. Soldiers need to be in shape, on their toes, not go from party to party like some… rich brats with too much time on their hands!" He added, clearly referring to Diego, another remark his former schoolmate chose to forgive because of the holidays.
"And… why do you think Zorro will show up tomorrow, Ignacio? Have you got another plan to catch him?" Diego wondered, genuinely concerned that the Alcalde was up to some mischief.
"No… no… it's not that… But you know how he is! Always ready to commit some new atrocity!" Ignacio replied, both miserable and content to talk about his nemesis and completely ignorant that he was speaking with the man himself. "And we all know he doesn't repeat himself. Last year he showed up on Christmas Eve, to release that old man who had you all fooled into thinking he was Santa Claus, so this year he is certain to commit some felony on Christmas! I have no doubt about that. If only I could find out what he has planned… I could get rid of that criminal once and for all…"
"Zorro is not a criminal, Alcalde!" Victoria intervened at exiting her kitchen with De Soto's plate of carne assada and catching part of the conversation. "If you would overcome this obsession you have with him, you might even see that!"
De Soto was, at that moment deciding whether putting Victoria in prison for supporting an enemy of the state would be a good opportunity for him to catch Zorro. That would have been the best Christmas gift he'd have ever received. However, the masked fiend, he considered, had proven time and again that the garrison was no match for him, and De Soto did not particularly fancy receiving a black eye for Christmas. Again.
"Alcalde!" Don Alejandro exclaimed at walking through the door and interrupting his train of thoughts just as Diego, almost reading his mind, was preparing to deflect De Soto's attention from Victoria to himself.
"Don Alejandro..." De Soto greeted, wondering why were the De la Vegas so committed to disturbing what he had hoped would be a peaceful meal.
"It is good I found you here. You might know that, like every year, I'll be hosting a Christmas lunch at the Hacienda tomorrow. It is our proud tradition to have a small gathering with friends and family, and I thought you… might… like to join us." Don Alejandro continued.
"And why did you think I would want to do that?" De Soto wondered as he was picking at his food.
"Well...it is Christmas and I thought..." Don Alejandro was taken aback by his attitude.
"Father!" Diego tried to salvage the situation before his former schoolmate's rotten attitude would spoil Don Alejandro's Christmas. "I believe the Alcalde would rather be at the garrison with his men, looking at ways to increase the security of the pueblo."
"That is quite right, Diego!" De Soto decided he agreed with that conclusion. Truth be told, he would have rather done anything that would have kept his mind occupied until the winter holidays were over. "It is but my duty, as your Alcalde, to...to be here and consider ways in which I can increase the security of this pueblo." He repeated Diego's words for emphasis. "More so at Christmas, knowing full well that Zorro is sure to make an appearance tomorrow!"
"I see..." Don Alejandro tried to be understanding, although he was certainly never going to understand the man before him. "Well, if you change your mind, Alcalde, the Sergeant will also be there, and he has all the details."
"I won't, Don Alejandro. And I'm afraid Mendoza will also be unable to participate since... since he is due on patrol tomorrow." De Soto decided on the spot.
"On patrol? On Christmas Day? But he said you had given him the day off!" Diego replied, unable to fully disguise his outrage.
"I did have every intention to… but, unfortunately, this morning I received news of bandits plaguing the area south of the pueblo and, given his poor tracking skills, I believe he might be gone all day to search for them!" De Soto informed him and, as soon as he finished his lunch, he went to tell Mendoza he was no longer getting his free day and instead would be on patrol, due to leave early the next morning.
ZZZ
"What an absurd man!" Don Alejandro complained a little later to Victoria and Diego. "To forbid poor Mendoza to enjoy Christmas with friends, despite knowing that he never had a family! And for what? Not even he believes that story about bandits south of the pueblo! I, for one, haven't heard of anything of the sort!"
"Yes… I am afraid, Father, that your invitation for De Soto just resulted in the cancellation of Mendoza's." Diego pointed out, his right hand on his chin, thinking of ways in which to help the Sergeant.
"That was not my intention, Diego! I...I felt that...since the man did save your life, it was the least I could do..." Don Alejandro mentioned and his son smiled kindly at him.
"I know, Father. Unfortunately, our esteemed Alcalde does not seem to share your logic." He replied.
"Well… He's usually in a rotten mood during the holidays, but I just thought he might really be changing. Even you must admit he's not been on his normal bad behavior lately, Son!" His father remarked.
"There's a difference between wishful thinking and reality, Father!" Diego noted. "But why don't you tell me if Felipe is feeling better. I was hoping he would accompany us to the party tonight."
"I'm afraid not." Don Alejandro replied. "He seems a little worse to me, to tell you the truth!"
"And you left him home alone?" Diego questioned as he was preparing to return to the hacienda.
"Oh, don't fret, Diego! It's just a cold. He's perfectly able to move around and get whatever he wants for himself. That is, if he decides to do something else than sleep. Really, Diego, since you've adopted him, he's becoming more and more like you, and you've become like a new mother, constantly preoccupied for the well-being of your son! You really need to let loose a little, or you'll age prematurely due to worry!"
"That might be the case, Father, but I would still rather go check on him." Diego replied. "I will see you later! Victoria! Father!" He saluted and headed for the hacienda.
ZZZ
Later that evening, as everyone was having a good time at the tavern, exchanging gifts, dancing, eating and drinking, Mendoza was on duty, guarding an empty prison, dozing on a chair.
The Sergeant did not hear Zorro come in, so, when the black-gloved hand of the pueblo's hero woke him up, he almost fell off his chair.
"Buenas noches, Sergeant!" The black-clad man greeted him, as he took an index finger to his mouth to indicate that they needed to be quiet.
"Zorro!" The lancer exclaimed, his voice merely a whisper. "What are you doing here? There's no prisoner for you to set free! Even the Alcalde is convinced you will not show yourself tonight, but only tomorrow!"
"That is, indeed, good news, Sergeant. It means I can just waltz out of the office without ducking bullets for once! However, I do believe there is a prisoner here, my friend. And, since I can't set him free, I thought the least I can do is bring him some of the delicious food and wine everybody seems to be enjoying at the tavern!"
"You did this for me, Zorro? You… you risked coming here just to bring me some of Senorita Escalante's food?" Mendoza asked, confused at seeing the basket. "But… How did you know? The Alcalde didn't even let me have dinner tonight! I thought I would starve to death!"
"That would certainly be unjust! Enjoy your dinner and Feliz Navidad, Amigo! I must take my leave!" He replied and, carefully not to be overheard, headed towards the door.
"Feliz Navidad, Zorro!" The Sergeant answered with a friendly smile, at seeing him leave right through the main entrance.
ZZZ
"What are you doing Mendoza?" The Alcalde admonished just a few minutes later, at coming in inspection and finding his man eating. The Sergeant dropped the food basket and stood up straight, swallowing hard. "What is this? I told you no food! You are on guard duty, Sergeant! Where did this food come from, anyway?" De Soto demanded to know.
"I... I... I just found it here, Alcalde! I don't know where it came from… I thought, perhaps… Santa left it for me…" The Sergeant answered, unwilling to confess he had received it from Zorro.
"You just found it here? And you are eating it? Have you thought that it might only be a trap set up by Zorro? He is surely looking for a way to kill you, Mendoza! Or to drive you mad, or whatever else he might have in mind!"
"No, Alcalde, Zorro would never do that!" He instinctively defended his friend.
"And how would you know what is he capable of? Or are you in league with him, Mendoza?"
"No! No, Alcalde! You know I want to capture Zorro just as much as you do!" The Sergeant tried to convince his superior.
"Well, Sergeant, in that case, you should start by throwing away that food, which is certainly poisoned! Now, Mendoza!" De Soto demanded.
The Sergeant hurried to carry out the order, regretfully throwing away the food and the wine Zorro had given him, and spent the next four hours of his duty even more miserable than before Zorro's visit, although with a slightly more full stomach.