"I am Zorro"

Chapter 1

"What do you suppose he was going to say, Diego?" Alejandro looked at his son expectantly.

They had turned to face each other in the middle of the street. No one was within hearing distance. Diego De la Vega knew that it was the ideal moment in his life to come clean with his own father. He had wanted to for so long. And now, surely, it was time. The last few hours had been full of revelations for his father. Wasn't it now a time for truth? A time for revealing his secret life to the man that was indeed a large part of his inspiration for Zorro?

"Father, it is time that you should know…" Diego's voice trailed away in his nervousness. The look on his father's face told him he expected to be told of some logical explanation for Gilberto Resindo's last words. An explanation that would make sense of a small puzzle, not one that would reveal an eight-year-old deception. "When Gilberto said 'When I kill Diego de la Vega, I also kill…' he never got to utter the last word of his sentence."

"And that would have been…" Alejandro prompted. He couldn't imagine what Diego was driving at any more than he could figure out what Gilberto had meant to say.

"Zorro." Diego said simply.

"Zorro?" Alejandro frowned. "Diego, what on earth does Zorro have to do with —"

"Father, I am Zorro." Diego watched his father carefully. There was no telling what a shock such as this might do to him. He was no longer a young man.

For one long moment, Alejandro stood and stared at his son. Then he shook his head sadly from side to side. "Zorro," he breathed. "Diego, I think the sun is a bit too hot for us to be standing out here today. Let's go inside, shall we?"

"Yes, of course." Diego turned to walk with his father toward the tavern. He was surprised by his father's calm reaction, to say the least. "But don't you think it would be best to return home. I am sure you have plenty of questions."

"Yes, of course I do. Of course I do, Son." They went through the door and Alejandro began greeting his friends who sat at the tables. There were many who had much to say to him. All of the events of the past few days had made the rounds and Alejandro was due much sympathy because of Risendo. As much as he wanted to have a nice long talk with his son, right now, it would be rude to ignore his friends. It was obvious that their discussion would have to wait. Diego walked over to the bar and Victoria.

"Diego, how about a glass of wine to celebrate the good news?" She smiled up at him and hoped he would follow her suggestion. After everything that had happened, she knew that both the de la Vega men could use a real drink for a change.

"Good news?" For a moment, Diego had forgotten his own announcement earlier. "Oh, you mean Felipe. Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea." And maybe it will make my confessions to my father a little easier. "Do you have any port?"

"Port?" she echoed, surprised at Diego being familiar with any sort of wine. But she recovered nicely. Diego had been full of surprises lately. "Of course. And for Don Alejandro?"

"I think he would prefer madeira." Diego smiled.

"Certainly. But where is Felipe?"

"He went home. I think he has had quite enough of today. I am not sure he was ready for me to tell everyone about my plans to adopt him. He wasn't exactly prepared."And that's the truth! he thought to himself. Felipe had no idea he had even been thinking about adoption. It was an idea discussed long ago and long ago forgotten. No, Felipe's expression had been one of total relief. He was relieved that Diego had not revealed Zorro to everyone present. What would Felipe think about it now that Diego had done just that, at least to his father?

"You will have to have a party, Diego. To introduce Felipe to the pueblo as your son. To make sure that everyone knows to accept him as such and not just as your servant. It will make the transition go more smoothly." She poured the drinks and laid a reassuring hand on Diego's sleeve. "It is a good thing you are doing, Diego. A very good thing. And perhaps it will help you and your father to forget all the bad events of the past few days."

"I hope you are right, Victoria. Truth is always good, is it not?" He said as he took his first sip of wine in a very long time indeed.

"Always." Victoria said automatically. Sometimes Diego was so inscrutable.

"What's this? My son is actually drinking something intoxicating? Let us mark this day down on our calendars, Victoria. We may never see this again!" Alejandro slapped Diego on the back so hard, he almost fumbled and dropped the glass.

"Well, you both deserve a little celebration. After all, you are adding to your family."

"Yes, adding to our family." Alejandro's manner clearly indicated that he was really thinking about the recent loss to his family instead. Risendo had been an evil and cruel man bent on killing Don Diego and ruining Don Alejandro, but he was still a de la Vega, the son Alejandro never knew he had until it was too late. "Drink up, Son. I would like to get home early tonight. I think you need some rest."

"We both do, Father." And we need to talk, Diego conveyed with his eyes. He was already planning the words he would use.

They rode in silence, side by side, back to the hacienda. Felipe was nowhere to be seen and it was one of the stable boys that came to see to the horses. Diego followed his father through the doorway.

"Now, Diego, sit down. Explanations are in order. We have no need, you and I, for anything other than the truth between us. There is no need for you to be anything other than what you are, Diego. You are my only son. No matter what we have discovered in the last few days, you are the son that I have loved for your whole life for being just what you are. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, Father, I know that. And I am sorry for all the lies. I am sorry for deceiving you all these years. But it was necessary to —"

"Deceiving me?"

"Yes, it was not always easy and it was not what I —"

"Diego, this is ridiculous. I thought I made it clear. You're not going to continue with this idiotic claim that you are—"

"But Father, I am Zorro!"

Alejandro burst out laughing but the laughter had a bitter tinge to it. "Son, I appreciate your attempt to cheer me up. This would be rich on any day but today. But I'm trying to have a serious conversation here."

"But it is true!" Diego felt a rising panic inside. He had tried for so long to convince everyone he was not anything like Zorro, it was new ground to try to do the reverse. "Father, I assure you, I am telling you the truth!"

"Diego, Diego," his father sad as he clicked his tongue. "I never would have thought you'd be so insensitive. Drop this, please. On any other day, I would enjoy such bantering with you, but today, I'm tired. I'm weary. And I just want to go to bed. Now please, can we get back to the subject at hand?"

"Father, the subject at hand is my confessing to you that I am Zorro. I know it is hard to believe. I have worked rather diligently at making it so. But now, I am ready for you to know the truth." Diego looked toward the fireplace. I can show him the cave. Yes, seeing is believing. "Come, Father, please!"

"Diego—" Alejandro was getting frustrated and just a little concerned. It was not like Diego to carry on like this. He watched as Diego reached under the mantle and made a show of pressing on the stonework. Diego turned, straightened and smiled.

"See?" Diego spread his arms wide and looked at his father triumphantly.

"See what?" Alejandro was growing more concerned by the minute. "Diego, it's a fireplace. It's been a fireplace for years, ever since I was a boy. Just what am I supposed to see?"

Diego whirled around and repeated the movement he'd made before. Nothing happened.

"I don't understand. This has never stuck like this before," Diego said, as he pushed the lever repeatedly, trying to activate the mechanism that would slide the panel aside at the back of the fireplace and reveal the hidden passageway behind it.

"Oh. It's stuck? That explains it." Alejandro nodded and stood with his hands on his hips. He was willing to humor his son if that's what it was going to take to get to his bed tonight. "Perhaps it will be unstuck tomorrow. And then what will I see?"

"Why, it is the entrance to the cave!" Diego was beginning to see how unbelievable he was sounding. "No, really, Father, I know this sounds—"

"Strange? Incredible? Silly? Diego, I didn't have that much to drink tonight that I'd believe there was a cave hidden behind my own fireplace that I have been totally unaware of all these years. Come on, Son. It's time for bed."

"No! Father. There's another entrance. Follow me!" Diego strode to the door and motioned his father to follow him.

"Diego!" Alejandro yelled after his son with his weariness showing in his voice. But it was clear Diego was not finished with the charade. "Diego, please! Can't this wait until tomorrow?" Alejandro groaned loudly as he followed his son out the door.

Once outside, he had to almost run to keep up with him. Diego was scrambling like a madman along the rocky ridge and around behind the hacienda wall.

Don Alejandro was quite out of breath by the time he had climbed down from the small outcropping of stone that jutted out behind his home. He sank down on a boulder and looked up at Diego. "Well?"

"Look here!" Diego gestured toward the wall of rock.

And then he did a strange thing. A very strange thing. He jumped up in the air and came down with all his weight on a small patch of sand. Alejandro's and Diego's attention were both centered on that small area of earth.

Diego looked toward the vine covered rock wall. Clearly, it was obvious he expected something to happen.

But nothing did.

"Diego….?" Alejandro began, but he became speechless as he watched Diego jump up and down on the same spot again and again.

"I don't understand. I've opened it before with my own weight. Of course, I am usually on Tornado when we come in this way…" Diego was trying to make sense of it all.

"Of course you are. Tornado's weight would make quite a difference."

"You are humoring me!" Diego pointed to his father. This was insulting. "Father, I know this sounds —"

Alejandro got up, dusted himself off and announced to his son, "Diego, I'm going to bed. You can show me this cave tomorrow. Maybe by then, it will be there."

"But Father! I—"

"You know, Diego, if Zorro had this much trouble finding his own lair, I doubt we'd have ever seen much of him. Now come to bed. And I think you had better lay off the wine from now on. It doesn't suit you."

"But Father! I really am—"

But Diego was talking to air. His father was already disappearing up the ledge. "I don't understand this…" Diego stomped hard on the ground once more, but the wall before him remained solid.

After several minutes of trying, he could see it was futile. The rope must have frayed, severed. I will have to repair them tomorrow. Then I can show Father. Diego sighed. His father was right. It had been a long day and he was tired. It would all have to wait until the morning.