CHAPTER 2
"Diego! Diego!" Alejandro walked around the hacienda calling for his son. The man snorted in disgust and stalked down the hall to Diego's bedroom. "Diego! Victoria is here!"
When he opened the door and walked through the sitting room and into the main bedroom, the older man's eyes narrowed. Diego wasn't there and his bed hadn't even been slept in.
"Hmm, Victoria didn't mention seeing him at the tavern." He muttered to himself and stalked back down the hallway to his guest.
Felipe was bending over her when Alejandro returned, offering her a glass of juice. She took it with a small smile of gratitude as Alejandro addressed the mute.
"Felipe, where is Diego? He's not in the hacienda."
Felipe quickly signed something too fast for Alejandro to understand while his mind frantically searched for an acceptable solution to why Diego was not home.
"Slow down. What now?"
Alejandro squinted and finally nodded in understanding.
"Oh. He's gone to survey the new de la Vega lands north of Santa Barbara?"
Felipe nodded with a forced smile.
"Hmm. Alright. Strange that he didn't tell me before he left." Alejandro shrugged. "But that's my Diego. Keeps everything to himself." He glanced at Victoria with concern and took a seat next to her. She'd been crying and he had a pretty good idea of what had caused the tears.
"He was so excited. He said Zorro was dead!" Victoria recounted everything nearly word for word that had happened in the tavern. "I just can't believe it." Victoria turned desperate eyes on Alejandro. "We have to find him before the alcalde does!"
"Did he say where, my dear?" Alejandro took her hand and held it gently.
"Mendoza was complaining about being sore from riding so long so it could not have been close."
Alejandro nodded, contemplating whether or not he should tell the obviously distraught woman about Toronado. He decided to keep that information to himself for the time being and insisted Victoria stay at the hacienda for the night.
She had not the strength to refuse and Alejandro called for a maid to come assist her.
When he turned around to address Felipe, the boy was gone.
In the guest room down the hall, Victoria sobbed into the soft down pillow, praying for her masked love.
Wake up! He could feel invisible hands shaking his weary body. You cannot die like this! You have too much to live for. You have a woman who loves you, a father who's proud of you and a servant who looks up to you.
His unconscious mind answered the unfamiliar voice. A woman who loves a fantasy, a father who thinks his son is a coward, and a servant doomed to share a secret that could cause his execution.
Memories of his life, his loved ones, pulled at his mind, showing him that he was needed, that he was loved.
"Will you marry me?"
"Yes, absolutely, definitely. Yes!"
"You never need doubt my love again."
"But I'm proud of the son I do have."
"Zorro! No!"
These memories strengthened the voice imploring that he hang on, to not let go. There were people who still needed him, who still loved him.
A violent chill shook his body and he groaned loudly. His eyes parted to mere slits but the pain in his head caused sharp bursts of light to mask any vision of the surrounding terrain. He sucked in a huge gasp of air and trembled with the effort it took. His entire body hurt. He was laying half submerged in a pool of water that was gently lapping at his legs. Gone was the violent rush that had propelled him God knows how far down the ravine.
He lifted his head again and was rewarded for his efforts by another sharp pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the glove off his uninjured hand with his teeth. He slowly brushed it over his head and was relieved to find that he was not bleeding. He dropped that hand into the water and brought a small amount of the clear liquid to his face. He was warm, dangerously warm, and the liquid cooled him ever so slightly as he rubbed his neck and head. For the first time, he noticed the mask was gone.
He grimaced as he dug his good shoulder into the sand and heaved his body out of the water, the encouraging voices of those he loved giving him momentary strength.
After only a few moments, he was panting, gasping for air as his battered body screamed in protest at every movement. He slipped blissfully back into unconsciousness as the sun reached its zenith overhead.
"I'm going to the tavern to probe Mendoza for some answers as to where Zorro fell last night," Alejandro said as Victoria emerged from the guest room. "If you're ready, I'll take you back to the tavern, my dear."
"Yes." Victoria answered without a smile. "I'm ready." She rested her hand on Alejandro's arm. "If you find out, I want to go with you."
Alejandro nodded as they made their way to the cart. He helped her into the seat and pulled himself up beside her. He was at a complete loss for words as to how to comfort the young señorita and simply settled for draping a comforting arm around her as they drove the two miles into the pueblo.
When they arrived, de Soto was already mounting the torn and bloodied saddle onto a makeshift pillar in the middle of the plaza.
Victoria bristled and Alejandro slid a hand around her wrist to prevent her from making a scene. It would do no good for her to get arrested, or worse, by insulting the alcalde. There was no Zorro to rescue her and he very much doubted the caballeros would band together to free Zorro's lady from jail.
Alejandro resolved to have a meeting, perhaps at his hacienda, to discuss this new development. The people would have to start standing up for themselves from now on, there would be no masked man to do it for them.
After Alejandro had helped Victoria down from the cart, he walked over to the smiling commandant. "Alcalde, what do you think you're doing?"
"You have two eyes, do you not?" de Soto spat. "I'm mounting this saddle in the middle of the plaza as a reminder to all who dare cross this government's authority."
"I see. I find this action incredibly inappropriate." Alejandro stalked off to the tavern as de Soto chuckled behind him.
"You would, having been such a staunch supporter of that masked fiend." De Soto ordered two lancers to guard the new memorial and ordered the rest of them to their mounts. "I should mount the body on a spit when I bring it back."
Alejandro's growled in disgust as de Soto turned to the crowed that had gathered.
"The bounty on Zorro's head currently stands at six thousand pesos. Since the fiend is finally dead, I now transfer that bounty to his horse. The first man to bring me that black menace or offer knowledge that leads to his whereabouts will collect this reward!"
Alejandro growled beneath his breath, thankful that Victoria had not heard this announcement. With luck, the alcalde would be gone most of the day. It would give him a chance to hold a public meeting.
A child's voice drew him back to consciousness and he opened first one eye and then the other. Between the brightness blinding his vision, he could see a dark-haired child leaning over him with a curious look. For a split second, he thought she looked like Victoria and his heart clenched in his chest at the implication. Was his daughter come to rescue him?
The little girl called over her shoulder to someone he could not see. He didn't have the strength to make even the smallest effort to look around the small child. He could barely understand what she was saying. Darkness enveloped his mind in its never-ending grip as a much larger duplicate of the young girl leaned over him, her eyes wide.
For many days he woke, was fed a foul-tasting liquid, and then fell into unconsciousness again. He had no idea how many days had passed since he'd fallen into the ravine and he couldn't even string together two coherent thoughts to ask about it.
It was dark when he woke and was able to stay conscious for more than a few moments. His groan of pain alerted those huddled around the fire that he had regained at least some portion of consciousness.
"How do you feel?" A young woman's voice sounded sweet to his ears.
He tried to open his eyes but the searing pain that shot through his head caused him to snap them shut once more.
"Worse than I look." He gritted through clenched teeth as he tried to move.
"Oh, I don't know about that. You look pretty bad."
He concentrated. The accent was familiar but it was not of Spanish origin. He struggled to remember the few words he'd learned from Felipe's old novia. He spoke slowly, the dialect and accent incorrect, but since he couldn't see his rescuer, he wanted to see if he was correct in his guess of her nationality.
He heard a sharp intake of breath as he spoke her native language and was rewarded with a cool hand flattening across his forehead.
"A Spaniard who has taken the time to learn our words," An unmistakable male voice said from the other side. "Most unusual."
"We need to have the shaman look at him when we get home. I don't know what else to do." The young woman was clearly speaking to the man.
He swallowed hard, trying to remember what had brought him to this place. "Where am I?"
"You are traveling with my family to our village."
He turned his head in the direction of the voice and was rewarded with a sharp stab of pain in his head.
"What village?"
"We live in a village north of the Santa Ynez Mission."
"Santa Barbara then." he said. "What road do we travel?"
"El Camino Real."
"Do you have a name?" A woman's voice asked and he knew better than to move his head at the sound. It would only cause more pain. "I didn't want to leave you behind, but we are expected soon at our village so we had to bring you with us."
But his brow wrinkled when he found that he couldn't answer her question. "I – It's on the tip of my tongue but-" He blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the woman but his eyes refused to cooperate."
"It will be all right. You have had a head injury, your eyesight and memories will return in time." He could feel his head lifted and a small bowl pressed to his lips. He groaned in pain at even this movement and heaved a huge sigh of relief when she released his head.
"I hope so."
"Do you know where you are from?"
He thought hard and winced as the exertion caused another sharp pain in the side of his head. Fragments of memories flashed briefly and then were gone and he whispered through clenched teeth, " Madrid – I think."
"Oh, that would make sense. We found you half submerged in an inlet not far from the ocean. Perhaps a ship you were on ran aground."
He remained silent. But he was certain that was not the case. A feeling of dry, arid heat passed across his face; A brief but solid memory. No, he hadn't come across the ocean.
"Maybe." Was all he could say before he slumped weakly into the bed they'd made for him. His body ached and he couldn't move his right arm or his left leg.
Cool hands calmed him with a gentle touch on the forehead. "You are very badly injured. You won't be walking or even standing for a long while."
"Broken?" Diego asked. He was finding it increasingly difficult to string together more than a few words at a time.
"Your right wrist is broken as is your left leg, I'm afraid." The woman helped him take a sip of water and then continued. "You have badly discolored bruises on your chest and back, and your head injury is serious. You hurt your right shoulder as well but I think you must have pulled it back into place before we found you."
He only nodded weakly. "Thank you." He took a deep breath, searching frantically for the words. "For your help."
"Sleep now, we will be on our way in the morning."
It took no time at all for him to fall back into a drug-induced sleep.
"Alcalde!" Corporal Sepulveda bounded off his horse and rushed into de Soto's office, forgoing the proper salute as he passed Mendoza.
"Corporal, you will - " Mendoza followed him, muttering about military protocol but stopped in his tracks when he noticed what the excited corporal held in his hands.
"Well done, Sepulveda!" de Soto snatched the black mask from the corporal's hand. He examined the black silk carefully. "I do believe I see blood mixed in here with this dirt."
He strode out of his office and walked gleefully across the plaza.
Victoria saw him coming and resisted the urge to turn and walk away when she noticed the black material he held in his hand. She swallowed hard as she stared at his hand.
"Yes. I'm sure you know exactly what this is, don't you." De Soto held it up for anyone in the vicinity of his voice to see. "Zorro's mask. It's only a matter of time before we find the rest of him!" his laugh sent shivers down Victoria's spine and she resisted the urge to claw his eyes out.
"I'd let you touch it, Señorita, but I'm sure I'd never get it back."
Her eyes stared at the mask obviously stained with blood and dirt. Finally, she realized with an overwhelming shock that he was not coming back to her. She stifled a sob and turned away quickly muttering, "I have one," so softly that de Soto couldn't be sure he heard her correctly.
When he stepped forward to interrogate her further, Alejandro barred his way. "Have some respect, alcalde. You may have been at odds with the man but that woman loved him. Let her mourn in peace."
De Soto snorted in disgust. "Perhaps she should choose more wisely next time upon whom to bestow her affections!" His voice carried inside the tavern as Victoria disappeared behind the kitchen curtain.
Alejandro followed her as de Soto strode briskly back to his office.
"Victoria?" Alejandro called softly when he found her in the storeroom off the kitchen. "Please, my dear. I can't bear to see you cry. Tell me what I can do to help."
"Bring him back to me," She answered softly, knowing, accepting, that it was a request Alejandro could not grant.
TBC