At the dinner table, a content Diego leaned back in his chair. He and Julian were getting back to familiar footing, and he enjoyed this house. While he was here, he could pretend that the outside world did not exist, but he knew it did, and it would all too soon intrude into his paradise. For once in his life, he made the decision not to worry about the future--at least, not much anyway.
"Do you love her?" His words rushed out, running over each other, in an effort to get out the question that hounded him all day.
Julian grinned and picked up his glass. "Yes, I do." He took a sip of his wine as Diego's gut clenched. He was not sure he could give up Victoria, even for his friendship with Julian. It frightened him--Julian had been his best friend for over fifteen years--and then brown eyes met blue. "As a sister." Diego let out a quick breath. "I think she would make my best friend a wonderful wife."
Diego tried to smile and his laugh was forced. "You must have swamp fever, amigo, because you know that I am not the marrying kind."
Julian sipped on his wine. "Actually, I always thought I wasn't the marrying type. You, on the other hand, I always thought, was the type of man who needed to be married."
"Julian, I am a soldier, an adventure seeker. I'm hardly the type of man that makes a good husband." Diego's laugh was one of amazement.
Julian put down his glass and leaned forward on his arms. "You have spent most of your life running, Diego, I agree. I enjoy our life, but you, you just exist in it."
"Julian--"
"Diego, your mother and your father and Ynez Resendo left big holes in your soul." He leaned forward more. "I think you were starting to see past that though. You were beginning to laugh more and watching children play. When you told me were coming here, I thought about transferring." Diego's head snapped back in shock. Julian had followed him, without question, for over a decade.
His friend sighed. "Not because I wasn't loyal to you, Diego. You know that my loyalty will always be with you. You taught me--everything. I am what I am, because of you and your patience." Julian looked over at Diego's slumped shoulders. "I knew that there was a possibility that this place would destroy you. If you don't get your answers, Diego, you will spend the rest of your life running. And, while I'll admit, there is a part of me that likes the idea of you and I together to the end, I know a truth about you that you have never admitted."
Diego looked at him, waiting for him to finish. "You may have managed to convince yourself that you are a soldier here," he said, pointing at Diego's head. He moved his finger to where Diego's heart beat. "But you will never be able to convince here that you are one."
"I'm a damn good soldier," he flatly declared.
Julian laughed. "Of course you are! You are Colonel Diego Resendo, the man the King sends to get the job done. Ability is not a question! It's about your heart, your passion, Diego. You remain a soldier because you are good at it, and you know someone needs to do it."
Diego took a gulp of his wine as his friend leaned even closer. "Ask him! Maybe he did give you up. Maybe he got scared at the thought of taking care of a son with a twisted leg. Even the bravest man sometimes lets fear win." Diego did not respond. "You forgave me."
"You were scared--"
"Exactly!" Julian shouted while keeping his voice low. "I was scared, and I ran in battle, Diego. You never reported me for breaking formation."
Diego ran his hand through his hair. "I can understand how a man can get frightened by a battle, especially his first one, Julian. How can he be frightened by a child?"
His friend smiled, leaning back in his chair. "I don't know, Diego. Men seemed to be more afraid of young ones than they are of dying sometimes. Imagine I had a crying baby in my arms. Would you want to take it and raise it or go out and fight a duel?"
Diego gave a weak smile of acknowledgement. "Your point is made, amigo." His fingers moved up and down the glass sitting in front of him. "What if he still doesn't want anything to do with me?"
"Then, my friend, you grab Victoria, tell you love her, and head out of this tiny little hole in the wall, and never come back," Julian answered. "The demons in your mind are bigger than they could possibly be in real life. Go and face them."
Diego smiled. "I'm still not the marrying type."
Laughing, Julian shook his head and refilled their glasses. "I guess we will have to agree to disagree, amigo."
"I've taken care of enough people in my lifetime, Julian," Diego said, admitting something he seldom ever allowed himself to admit. His voice was tired as he explained, "Between Mother and Uncle Felipe and his children--"
His Lieutenant nodded, sitting down the bottle. "And me and the men. But, Diego, you like taking care of people. I was thinking earlier that you would make a fine Zorro!"
Diego's laughter rang through the house. "Me, a masked outlaw with a six thousand peso reward on his head? Not in this lifetime!"
***
A few minutes, later, each man got up from the table and began to walk towards the library. "Yes, Victoria would make you a fine wife." Julian's brown eyes twinkled as he spoke.
He sighed. "Please, Julian. I have no interest in getting married."
His friend ignored him. "You were meant to have a wife and some children around you to love and take care of, I think. Yes, she would make you a fine wife." His eyes met Diego's exasperated ones. "And, she's the first woman who's been strong enough to take care of you, too!" Diego's gaze fell to look at the floor, signaling his refusal to discuss it. It did not matter. Julian would bring it up later. He could be like a dog with a bone sometimes.
***
A nervous Felipe slipped into the library. Grabbing up the book he was reading earlier, he sat down. He could hear the sounds of footsteps approaching, and he did not want the emissary to become suspicious. He knew Gilberto was smart enough not to kill the men--the King's wrath would be impossible to avoid if he did--but he worried that Gilberto's jealousy would make him do something stupid.
He flinched when Diego's hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up into kind blue eyes. "Felipe, have you eaten?"
He sat for a moment, surprised by the question. Don Alejandro was the only one who ever worried about him eating, since his son never bothered to worry about the servants. It was amazing that a Spanish Royal Emissary would be concerned about his eating habits. He nodded, thinking of the apple he had eaten earlier. Diego smiled, as if knowing how little he had eaten. "There was no way that Julian and I could finish the quail. Why don't you go finish eating it for us?"
Felipe looked in the direction of the dinning room. To eat at the main table? To have quail, the delicate birds that were a staple in a caballero's dinner? He could not believe it. Don Diego held even more surprises than Don Gilberto. It was only Felipe's strength of will that prevented him from looking at the fireplace. He did not know what to do.
"He'll get supper later!" A harsh voice filled the room. Diego and his lieutenant turned in surprise. Felipe saw the emissary's eyes move across the wall behind the outlaw, as if looking for a secret entranceway.
He watched, stunned, as Don Diego simply crossed his arms and leaned his hip against a chair. "You don't seem to like the idea of him eating, Zorro. He's just a young boy. What could he have done to you?" He had never seen anyone act so arrogantly and unafraid around Zorro.
Noticing the anger in Zorro's eyes, he prayed that Don Diego would show some respect. He liked the man, and he did not want to see him hurt. Gilberto had done more than his fair share of stupid acts in the midst of anger. He always later regretted them, but it did not prevent him from making other mistakes later.
"It is you, Señor, that I don't like much."
Diego shrugged. "Really? What have I done to you?" He looked over at Lieutenant Hidalgo. "You told me that he has been interested in Victoria, but there has been no return of affection." The other man nodded, seeming to be as unconcerned as his superior. They both were mad! To bring up Victoria at this moment was sure to enrage the masked man.
Unfortunately for them, Zorro did not always play fair. A glass of brandy was tossed into Diego's eyes, blinding him. Hidalgo jumped forward, drawing his sword. The two men circled each other as the emissary desperately wiped his eyes. Within a few cuts and parries, it was obvious who was the better swordsman. The pueblo now had two men who could defeat its masked saber master.
Hidalgo knew the moves, but Zorro knew the house. He carefully managed to guide the Lieutenant onto a small rug that Don Alejandro planned to move. It was far too slippery to stand on in the library, but it had been a gift from a friend of Gilberto's. Lunging, the lieutenant lost his footing and fell. Zorro picked up the brandy decanter and smashed it over his head.
Diego stood up with red eyes that he kept blinking. Felipe knew that he had not totally regained his sight, but he was able to fight. Grabbing a ceremonial sword that Don Alejandro kept on the library wall, he looked over at his friend. "I must admit," he said after he heard his friend moan. "That I admire your quick thinking."
Felipe was probably the only one in the room who noticed that Zorro started at the comment. While many feared him, few complimented him. The young servant, nervously watching the fight from outside the room, hoped it was enough to keep Gilberto in line.
Even half-blind, Diego was a better man with his sword than even his lieutenant. He drove the masked man out into the foyer. Felipe had never seen someone who was so skilled before, and he admitted that he was enjoying seeing Gilberto being defeated. Then, he thought of Don Alejandro and his kindness. The caballero would be devastated to lose his only son. Felipe could not allow the emissary to win, even if Don Gilberto would not appreciate his help. Picking up a decorative plate off the wall, he swung it over the other man's head, wincing as it shattered into pieces. The emissary fell to the ground.
He stood there waiting for Zorro to leave, but the masked man did not move. He stared at the slumped figure, hate radiating from him like heat does from a fire. The young boy struggled to think of some way to protect the defenseless man, fearing what would happen if the King heard his favorite soldier had been killed in Los Angeles. Don Diego had been too kind for Felipe to allow Gilberto to murder him in a jealous rage. Besides, the masked man would be remorseful later about killing an unarmed man.
Fortunately for him, Hidalgo woke up to see his friend in danger. He lurched to his feet and raced towards Zorro. His sword stopped the masked man's downward swing, and they began to fight away from Diego's unconscious body. Hidalgo was a better fighter, but he was dazed from the earlier battle, so Zorro managed to knock the sword from his hand.
Zorro turned again towards Diego, who was beginning to awaken. Felipe cheered silently when Hidalgo jumped onto the outlaw's back in an effort to protect his commander. The young servant enjoyed seeing the loyalty between these two. Don Alejandro taught it to him, but he saw very few other examples in Los Angeles. Mendoza was loyal, but the alcalde treated him unfairly. Victoria was loyal to those she loved, as well as the pueblo, but many people still spread lies about her. Diego and Hidalgo both were loyal to one another, and it gave Felipe hope. Maybe he should consider joining the army himself after Don Alejandro left this world.
He was the only person to hear the door open. He turned to see the alcalde aiming at Zorro's back. He struggled to force a word of warning from his lips. The blast made him jump, and he watched in horror as Hidalgo stiffened and then fell to the floor, shot in the back.
Moaning, the emissary raised himself up on one elbow. He flinched as the masked man ran past him, but then his eyes rested on the still form of his lieutenant. He lay there, totally unmoving for a moment. Then, he jumped up and rushed over to his friend.
Gathering his friend in his arms, he gently turned the other man around and held him tight. Felipe, through his own tears, could see the blood staining the emissary's white pants. Rocking him back and forth, Diego talked to the dying man. "If you want to stay here, that's fine, Julian, but you do it alive! You do it married, with those children. I won't leave you here in this pueblo's graveyard. Do you hear me? You are not going to die on me, Julian! That's an order!"
Diego later told Felipe it was the only order that Lieutenant Julian Hidalgo ever disobeyed.