Chapter 9

Zorro had decided to go to San Diego first. That was the closest. Victoria moved a lot slower with her wagon than he on Toronado. With any luck, he could catch up with her quickly.
If she hadn't gone there, he would try his luck in a further southerly direction. Hell, if he had to, he would travel after her to Venezuela. He had to and would find her.

But with every yard he travelled, the feeling grew he was doing something wrong. Every nerve in his body started to scream that he had made the wrong choice. Had Victoria chosen to travel directly toward Venezuela after all? It felt like something elusive. His instincts screamed that he was only increasing the distance between him and Victoria instead of decreasing it.

Zorro let Toronado come to a stop and peered at the surrounding landscape. Nowhere was there a sign of human life. As far as the eye could see, the road was empty.
His mind always tried to find a scientific explanation for everything and kept repeating that he imagined things. He couldn't possibly know for sure which direction Victoria had gone.
And yet Zorro was convinced that in order to find Victoria, he had to go in the other direction. She had not gone in a southerly direction. Neither to San Diego, nor towards Venezuela. Victoria had gone north.

He turned Toronado around and gave the horse a free rein. It was a feeling, somewhere deep in his consciousness forced him to make this choice. The decision went against every form of logic.
As soon as he turned the other way, Zorro got convinced. By going north, he would find Victoria.

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After the don fainted from fright, it took several minutes before he slowly started to regain his conscience.
The first thing Alejandro saw was Felipe sitting next to him with a worried expression on his face. Alejandro mutteringly rubbed his forehead with his hand.
"What a nightmare. I must have dozed off for a while. I dreamed I saw Diego disappear through the fireplace and..."
The don stopped talking and glanced around. He was in a place that looked remarkably like the cave in his dream. "And..., I think I'm still dreaming."
Alejandro blinked his eyes, rubbed his hands over his temples and opened his eyes again.

It began to dawn on him.
It wasn't his imagination. He was in a cave, along with Felipe.
Alejandro slowly lowered his hand over his forehead and his eyes, nose and mouth.
Flabbergasted, he tried to get up. Curiosity began to take over to discover where he had ended up.

Felipe grabbed the don by the wrist and shook his head. Alejandro muttered, more to himself than to the boy who could not hear him.

"Felipe, do you see what I see? This cave, it looks like some kind of hiding place. If I didn't know better, I'd start thinking Diego could be Zorro." Alejandro laughed uneasily. "What an absurd idea! Imagine Diego being Zorro. I think it's more likely for sergeant Mendoza to be Zorro."
Now that Alejandro heard himself say the words out loud, they sounded just as ridiculous. But a little less ridiculous than he would have liked it to be.

Another voice suddenly sounded clear in his head. It was the sound from a distant past and somewhat vague. Alejandro felt certain, Diego had indeed said the words. His son, however, had denied it afterwards.
'What is important now is that you stay with me. As don Diego, I have not always made you proud. I am Zorro. But I still need you. I still need a father.'

Alejandro clung to Felipe, who was still sitting beside him worriedly.
The don muttered half numbly. "Felipe, do you think..., do you believe..., I mean..., is it possible... Diego?"

With a guilty expression on his face, Felipe slowly began to nod.

The name of the black, masked hero he never believed was his son rolled over Alejandro's tongue. "Zorro? My son is Zorro?" And with Alejandro saying those words, he suddenly knew something else for sure as well. "And you knew?"

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After hours of riding, Zorro caught sight of a horse and wagon with a familiar figure on the seat.
His relief was indescribable.
He had taken a risk by listening to his instincts. Victoria had gone north instead of south. And his relief also came because Toronado was starting to get tired. A few hours ago, he figured out it was impossible for Zorro to ride into a town, and he had no other clothing brought with him.
"Victoria!" cried Zorro.
She had seen him, he was sure. Yet he did not see the beautiful smile appear around her lips with which she usually greeted her hero.
Instead, Victoria kept her mouth contorted into a thin line.

Even before she heard Zorro shout her name, Victoria had noticed the black form approaching from afar.
She had known that Zorro would want to come after her. That's why she had tried to make it seem she was heading south. She should have done better. After all, Zorro was not easy to fool. He always knew about everything. How he did it, nobody knew. Well, not always. The one time she had needed him to show up, Zorro had let her down.
Victoria realized that it was impossible to escape from him. She steered the wagon off the road and took a moment to mentally prepare herself for the confrontation she would have preferred to avoid. Victoria made a quick prayer it would be over as soon as possible. The pain of the facts that had come to light was unbearable and still too fresh. She had to find a way to control her emotions and keep Zorro at a safe distance.

Zorro had seen Victoria steer the wagon off the road to ride at a leisurely pace to some bushes that were out of sight of the main route.
At first, he thought she was trying to escape his pursuit. The pace at which she did so proved otherwise. And Zorro had to admit that it was a clever move by Victoria to make sure they met out of sight of passing travellers.

She stared at him anxiously and nervously.
Victoria jumped off the wagon and reached for her water bottle to take a big gulp, her hands trembling.

Zorro steered Toronado till beside the wagon and jumped off the back of the stallion.
"Victoria, thank goodness I found you." He greeted her.

Victoria turned away from him. "Zorro. What are you doing here?"

"I heard you had left the hacienda and Los Angeles and would like to know why." Zorro came straight to the point.

Victoria's mouth twisted into a grimace, and she squeezed her eyes together. "All of the sudden, you hear things right away." She snarled.

For a moment, he had no idea to what Victoria was referring. So Zorro asked. "What do you mean, all of a sudden?"

"That this time you heard very quickly that I have left. Whereas the last time, you didn't show up when I asked for you."

Ah, the bet. He could have known that Victoria would throw this one in his face at some point.
Patiently, he explained. ''Victoria, I can't always hear everything right away. That I heard it so quickly this time was a mere coincidence. I was nearby and heard that don Diego and don Alejandro were worried about you and wanted to start a search.

Victoria shrugged and expressed her disapproval by making a growling sound.

"When did you ask for me, and I wasn't there?" He asked as he carefully took a step in her direction.

"It no longer matters." Determined, Victoria closed the subject.

Zorro uttered. "Don Alejandro told me you are planning to go to Venezuela. And have no intention of returning. What has happened? Is there anything I can do?" Zorro didn't remind her that she was riding north, and Venezuela was actually south of Los Angeles, as was San Diego, where she told Juan where she had gone.

Victoria's voice faltered for a moment. "It's better this way. I had to leave."

"And what about us? I'm your fiancée. Don't I have a right to know that you want to disappear from my life?" asked Zorro softly.

Victoria avoided his gaze and nervously played with her fingers.
"Zorro, I'm sorry. I explained it all in the letter I left for you."

"You think you can explain leaving me in a letter?"

It left no doubt Victoria was feeling awkward. "I..., I felt I had no other choice. I never know when I am to see you. I had to go. She stammered.

Zorro urged. "How do you mean, you had no choice?"

Victoria remained quiet.

Zorro looked at her inquiringly. "Tell me, what is it you try to tell me?"

Victoria didn't dare look at Zorro. He was so close.
She whispered. "If I tell you, you to will hate me."

"My feelings run too deep. I could never hate you. Victoria, it's nothing like you to run off, just like that. Please tell me what happened and why you want to leave suddenly."

She shook her head.

Zorro grabbed her hand. Victoria immediately pulled it back and took a few steps away from him.
"Did something happen in the pueblo? Have you received bad news?"

She gave him no response whatsoever. "Victoria," Zorro went on. "Don't I have a right to know why you're suddenly running off? You're not the only one who has been waiting for years."
Victoria still didn't answer. She continued to stare cramped in front of her. Zorro doubted that she had heard his words.
"Victoria, I am trying to understand what is going on. But to understand any of this, you must tell me what is on your mind."

It took her great effort before she succeeded, stammering the words, one by one. "It's all in the letter I left you. Can I go?" She pleaded.

"That letter is in Los Angeles. Victoria, I thought we were honest with each other. Please, tell me the truth. You say you wrote me a letter what does it say, tell me? Por favor?"

Victoria bit her lip and stroked her fingers through her hair. After a long silence, she glanced at him. Her cheeks were fire-red. The silence was beginning to become unbearable. Zorro was about to grab her shoulders and shake her until Victoria confessed it to him when he heard whispered words. "The letter says you were right from the beginning.''

"What am I right about, Victoria." Zorro urged further on.

Again Victoria avoided his gaze and crawled back into her shell.

It was so frustrating. This way, he would never discover what had made Victoria decide to give up everything.
Zorro balled his fist, slammed it against the side of the wagon and exclaimed.
"Victoria, tell me the truth!"

Victoria slapped her hands in front of her ears. "No, no, I can't. I can't do it."

Zorro counted to ten. And then a second time. Much calmer than he felt, Zorro uttered. 'Yes, you can. What is Victoria? Tell me, what am I right about?'

Victoria was trembling like a leaf.

She made him feel afraid he was going to lose her.
He wanted to take Victoria in his arms, insure himself of her and his feelings. Kiss her until they were both gasping for breath. And he would tell her that as long as she loved him, they would conquer any problem together.
Zorro could tell she was trying to muster all her courage.

After a silence that seemed to last even longer than the one previous, she began to stammer. "That I don't truly love you." There was a brief eye contact in which Zorro saw honesty and desperation reflected. "I thought I did. I swear all these years, I thought there could be no one else I could love." Victoria swallowed, balled her fists and closed her eyes.
She had to say it.
There was no longer a other choice left. She could no longer lie to herself. "So you were right..." Her facial expression changed and Zorro felt lost. "I don't love you. Not like true love is supposed to be."

"Victoria, what do you mean?"

Her confession came hard. Yet a hint of hope also began to glimmer in his heart. Several times in the past few weeks, there had been uncomfortable tension between Diego and Victoria. Was it possible that Victoria had started to develop feelings for don Diego? He had to find out.

"I'm sorry." Victoria stammered.

"Is that why you fled Los Angeles?" he asked.

Victoria apologized, "I know I promised to wait for you. I intended to keep that promise. I did believe I loved you. I just can't do it anymore. Don't ask me to. It would be a lie if I did."

Zorro had to find out why her feelings had changed so suddenly. Caution was required, however, if he was to convince her to return to Los Angeles and not betray his identity. His heart was racing wild.
"But then why do you want to leave Los Angeles? You could have just told me. Don't you think I can understand that you're tired of waiting?"

Victoria's head shot up. With big watery eyes, she stared at him desperately. "It's not that. It has nothing to do with me being tired of waiting."

Zorro let her words sink in for a moment and swallowed a lump in his throat. He needed to find out if there was even the tiniest chance that Diego had anything to do with her sudden change of heart.
"Then may I know why you changed your mind so suddenly?"
Again Victoria avoided his gaze. Zorro took her chin between his fingers to make her look at him.
"What can I say to get you to stay in Los Angeles?

"My decision is final." Victoria's voice faltered. 'I'm never going back. I can't."

"Victoria, you don't have to do leave for me. I know I never should have to ask you to wait this long. It was unfair of me to ask. I don't want you to give up your tavern for me."

There was a charming blush on her cheeks that made him feel light-headed. ''Zorro, it's not your fault. And if you hadn't asked, I would have offered to wait."

"Then why are you leaving? I thought the tavern was your life's work."

Victoria shook her head. "It isn't any longer. It isn't my tavern, by the way."
Full of remorse, she stared at him.

"Tell me. If I'm not the reason you're leaving, then why are you?"
Zorro felt emotional. Frightened because of her statement, she no longer loved him. Hopeful because there was a chance that Diego stood a chance. Desperate because if he couldn't convince her to come back, all was lost forever.

Crying, barely intelligible, Victoria stammered. "Don Diego. He..., he hates me."

Zorro was barely able to mask his bewilderment. He had a hard time keeping his emotions in check. Where the hell had she got an idea as crazy as that?
Zorro cleared his throat a few times until he felt confident enough that his voice would not reveal what he was feeling at the moment. "Victoria, I'm sure that's not true. You are good friends. Didn't don Diego offer to help rebuild the tavern? I saw the work is progressing nicely. Why would he do such a thing if he hated you?"

"You don't believe me, do you?" Her tone was indignant, and it sounded accusatory.
"It's true, though! I heard him say it myself. The only reason he did all that is because he hates me."

"Victoria, I'm sure it is not true." Zorro tried again.

It was no use because Victoria wasn't listening. She was too occupied in her mind.
She wiped her nose with the top of her hand. "If I hadn't heard Diego say it myself, I wouldn't have believed it either. The truth is, my best friend hates me and can't even stand me in his hacienda. That is why he offered to rebuild the tavern as soon as possible. So he wouldn't have to endure my presence."

"But what does that have to do with us?" For a moment, the thought ran through Zorro's head that Victoria had discovered his identity. That would explain why she suddenly had run off, claiming she no longer loved Zorro. Was she trying to tell me she could never love Diego? But it also made no sense. Had she discovered his identity? But then why lie about it by telling Zorro Diego hated her?

In the meantime, a dam of tears had broken loose. Victoria was crying her eyes out.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing." She sobbed.

"Victoria."

Victoria glared at Zorro. Something had changed in his expression. She saw something that never had been there before.
No, no, it couldn't be true. "You, you." She stammered in disbelief.

What was it that had given him away? He wouldn't know. It must have been a change in his facial expression.
Although Zorro was wearing the black mask, as usual, it didn't succeed in hiding his identity.

Her eyes got as big as saucers. The disbelief could be scooped from her face as she exclaimed. "You are Zorro."

Her comment could get interpreted in several ways. Instantly Zorro knew without a doubt that Victoria was no longer speaking to Zorro but at don Diego. Victoria had seen a glimpse of the man hiding behind the mask and discovered his identity.
Zorro simply nodded his head.

Her facial expression changed again, from disbelief to a terrifying horror that made his heart squeeze together in pain.
"Oh, no." Victoria cried. "That's why you hate me."
Victoria felt how she was trembling. She could no longer feel her legs. Thoughts as, how was it possible she hadn't known about this before, how on earth was she supposed to breathe raced through her head.
Don Diego was Zorro. And with this revelation, she had discovered the real reason for why don Diego hated her.

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