"He did what?" Alejandro thundered.
Diego winced. "Please, Father. The headache is nearly gone; you're not helping. I am fine, I managed to survive a duel with Senor Avila, did I not?"
"I cannot believe the sargento would be so foolish," Alejandro paced the sala while Bernardo and Diego looked on.
"It was out of the best of intentions, Father," Diego reminded him. "Sergeant Garcia meant well." He winked at Bernardo. "Even if he nearly got you killed."
"He nearly-" Alejandro whirled around to face his son. "I was handling myself well enough!"
"Really? How is your arm doing?" Diego questioned knowingly. Bernardo grinned, shaking his head as if to let Diego know that was a bit of a low blow.
"I-" Alejandro paused, then shook his head. He smiled. "All right, all right," he said, holding his hands up placatingly. "I see that blow to the head hasn't affected your wit, in any case."
Diego smiled, then turned serious. "There was a moment this morning," he admitted to his father, "where you had me worried."
"Your old man still has a few tricks, m'ijo ," Alejandro assured him, giving him a squeeze of the shoulder. "But," he added, "if you can keep a secret-"
Bernardo gestured between himself and Diego as if to say Us? The two of them shared a knowing smile.
"All right, fair enough," Alejandro said. He looked Diego in the eye. "There was a moment this afternoon," he confided, "where I might have been just a bit worried myself." He perched on the edge of the table. "I don't suppose after all this, you'd feel up to giving your old man some fencing lessons?" He smiled. "It would be a privilege to be taught by the best."
"It would be an honor," Diego said.
A knock at the door interrupted the moment, and Bernardo got up to answer the door. He frowned as he stepped back, and Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes came in. "Don Diego," Garcia said by way of greeting. "Don Alejandro."
"Sergeant," Alejandro said crisply. Diego shot him a look and Alejandro waved at him dismissively. "Please," Alejandro said. "Have a seat."
" Gracias ," Garcia said. The two soldiers made their way down and sat at the table. "Don Diego," Garcia said. "We wanted to apologize again for our actions last night. W-we only wanted-"
Diego held up a hand. "It is all right, Sergeant," he said. "Your heart was in the right place."
"Even so, Don Diego," Garcia replied. "Our bright idea caused more harm than good." He looked at the two men for a moment, cleared his throat. "It is lucky that El Zorro showed up, eh?"
Diego stared. He exchanged a brief look with Bernardo. Bernardo did his best to look blankly back, but his heart was pounding. "Very much so," Diego replied slowly. "He always seems to know when someone is in trouble."
"It is strange," Reyes said. "Right after we let you out, Zorro showed up to fight a duel that you were supposed to fight."
Diego's blood ran cold. Trying desperately to steel his facial features, it all fell apart when Garcia looked straight at him and said, "You are Zorro…aren't you, Don Diego?"
Diego met his father's gaze. Bernardo looked panicked. Alejandro inclined his head. Diego took a breath, and let it out. " Si. I am."
Garcia nodded, his fingers playing over the brim of his hat. "All this time…" he mused. "I have been chasing my best friend."
"Please know, I never meant any harm with my deception," Diego said. "It was never personal, Sergeant."
"Oh, I know," Garcia nodded. He looked at Reyes. "Often we found ourselves on the side of Zorro rather than against him. It was only because of the comandante that we tried so hard to capture him. We believed in his cause."
"And…now?" Diego questioned hesitantly. Bernardo held his breath.
The two soldiers looked at each other. "The truth of the matter," Garcia said, "...is the people love Zorro. There will always be men who wish to take advantage of them. And-"
"We could use the help," Reyes cut in. Off the look from Sergeant Garcia, he added, "What? We are not very good."
"That is because you've never had a very good leader," Alejandro said. "Having said that…" He put a hand on Diego's shoulder. "You've been following the example of a good man."
"Indeed we have!" Garcia agreed.
Diego smiled, relaxing a little. He looked at Reyes. "Corporal…it is Corporal again, is it not, Sergeant?"
Garcia nodded, and Reyes looked relieved. "Corporal," Diego continued, "I think you spoke out of turn." He nodded to the two of them. "You are both good men." The two soldiers grinned widely. "Does this mean, Sergeant, when Zorro comes into the pueblo, that you'll, ah, take it easy on me?"
"Of course not!" Garcia exclaimed. "Why, it is an honor to fight against the best!"
"Well put," Alejandro nodded. Bernardo clapped his hands, and Garcia looked at him in surprise.
Diego laughed. "No, Sergeant," he disagreed. "That honor is mine."
Fin.