"Could you come with me to the river?" Victoria asked the man she had just given herself to, knowing it was a full moon that night and it was the only place where there was enough water to wash away all the paint on him. She needed to know the truth and she was certain that, if he really was, as she suspected, her masked hero, she would certainly recognize his face… if only she could see it.
"I can take you somewhere even better!" He answered with a smile she could barely see in the shallow light of the fire.
Some twenty minutes later, after a steep moonlight climb, they arrived at a small pond fed by a wide, shallow waterfall. The night was rather cold and a strange mist was rising from the water. For a few moments, Victoria regretted her decision to leave the house, since she was already freezing.
"Do you want to swim?" He asked her, just then realizing that he had no idea why she had wanted to go to the river in the first place.
"No. I was just hoping to convince you to wash the paint off of yourself." She confessed.
"Wash the paint? But I am only allowed to wash it in the mornings, when all men do." He replied.
"I will paint it back, just as it was!" She promised. "No one will ever know. I just want to see your face… without it!"
He hesitated, but very much wanted to do anything she asked of him as long as that made her happy. "Will you do the same, then? We can paint each other afterwards…" He suggested.
"Yes. I will wash my face, as well. I promise!" She answered.
The man smiled, then undressed and took off his boots as Victoria was staring at his naked body somewhat mesmerized.
"Your turn." He simply stated when he was fully naked.
She blinked fast a few times, then did as he asked, trembling with cold.
He lifted her up and she linked her arms behind his neck as he slowly entered the pond carrying her. Victoria's heels were the first part of her body to touch the water, and she only then realized why he had brought her there. The water wasn't cold but hot, and she chuckled with delight when she found herself immersed in it, still held in his strong arms.
When her feet touched the bottom of the small lake, the water was reaching just above her breasts. The two of them stared at each other before he leaned down to kiss her. A few moments later, she started washing off the paint on his shoulders and upper arms, her hands slowly making their way towards his face, as his lips lingered on hers.
"Come here!" He said, taking her hand and guiding her towards the waterfall when he saw her frustration with how hard it was to get rid of the paint.
The lake was a little deeper right under the stream rushing down the rock wall, but Victoria still could reach the bottom, the water barely swallowing her shoulders and part of her neck. Her tall man raised his head allowing the warm shower to cascade over his face and shoulders, and Victoria did the same, a hand clinging to one of his as the other she used to help the water in its effort to wash away the paint.
A little bit of the colored mixture from her forehead had just entered her eyes when she felt him again leaning down to kiss her, this time slowly lowering her into the water until they were both fully submerged. Some twenty seconds later, they both came up, hungry for air.
"Are you alright?" He asked as he used his hands to rinse over the excess water in his hair and from his face.
"I'm perfectly fine," she replied with a chuckle, as she did the same, then opened her eyes to look at Diego de la Vega, naked and without his moustache.
Victoria froze that very instant, this time completely certain she was looking at both her best friend and the man to whom she had given her heart to, and that they were one and the same.
"Is there something wrong?" He wondered at noticing her look.
She just shook her head, then glanced down before slowly raising her wide-opened eyes back towards his face.
"You?" She asked. "It was always you?"
He didn't understand her question so he didn't reply, just stared inquisitively at her.
"Why did you let Don Alejandro think you had vanished? You should have just told him you had decided to leave… He must be worried sick!" Victoria continued to question.
"Don Alejandro? Who is Don Alejandro?" He inquired.
The taverness looked at him open-mouthed, finally realizing he was not playing any game, nor pretending to be an Indian.
"You don't remember who you are, do you?" She asked.
"Who I am? Of course I remember. I am Kaweewesh." He answered with a genuine smile. "I, myself, chose that name."
"You don't remember… You probably even forgot me!"
"I did not forget you. You are here." He replied, taking a hand to his chest. "You have been here since the first moment I saw you in the camp, your beautiful eyes looking towards me!"
Victoria felt tears pouring down her cheeks. "But you don't remember your father, do you? And you don't remember me from before…"
"Father? No… I don't remember a father. Here only small children have fathers, but I don't remember having been a small child." He answered as honestly as he could. "All I know is the tribe. They cared for me since I first woke up. They are the first thing I remember. There is no before…"
"That's why you disappeared. You lost your memory." Victoria concluded, unsure about what else she should tell him and how.
Diego - who now referred to himself as Kaweewesh - just stared at her, unable to understand what seemed to trouble her so much.
"I did as you asked. Will you allow me to join with you again now?" He wondered.
Victoria blushed, just realizing she was standing naked before him, and that she had already made love to him that night. She also realized that there was no one else she hoped Zorro would turn out to be, and that he was the only man she had ever truly loved. Suddenly, Los Angeles and the world she grew up knowing were nothing more than a vague memory. She was no longer even sure that she wanted to go back to it again. No, she certainly didn't want to return to a life in which she had to wake up alone every day, wondering if the man she loved thought of her when they were not together; a world in which he was chased by lancers and risked his life on a daily basis; a world where they could not… make love.
They were together now, and there was nothing to stop them from remaining there for the rest of their lives.
So Victoria did not answer his question, just reached to kiss him. He gently lifted her up and she linked her legs around his waist before he propped her on the water-eroded, soft, rocky edges of the waterfall, and proceeded to make love to her for the second time that night.
The third time they did it about two hours later, just after they painted each other in the light of the fire, mainly in an effort to get warm.
Victoria did not tell him anything that might have reminded him of whom he used to be, deciding that she'd be perfectly content to live the rest of her life with that tribe as long as that meant that she'd get to spend all her nights in his arms. Slowly, however, the thought of Don Alejandro and Felipe wondering if the caballero was still alive, started keeping her awake long after the man she loved had fallen asleep next to her.
As for the caballero who believed himself an Indian, he was simply glad to feel loved by his Muwaar.
ZZZ
Felipe's hope and concern about the fate of his adoptive father were both renewed one afternoon, while he and Don Alejandro were having drinks on the tavern's terrace, discussing with the recently-returned Ramon Escalante the plans for further search parties. It was quite hot and he was just thinking about how much he missed Victoria's lemonade when a lancer's patrol returned to the pueblo dragging behind Tornado. Felipe's heart almost stopped at seeing the stallion, who was, obviously, in a bad state and quite tired.
Mendoza later recounted for Don Alejandro, Ramon and Felipe that the horse had headed straight towards him and his men, and hadn't even tried to resist when they lassoed him. He just followed the lancers towards Los Angeles and posed no trouble at all, probably happy to be receiving proper nourishment and care.
De Soto was now wondering if Tornado's sudden appearance meant that something might have happened to Zorro while he was – as everyone was certain – trying to find the taverness.
"Sergeant Mendoza!" Sepulveda interrupted his superior's conversation with his friends. "The Alcalde asked for you to go to his office right away!"
The good man took his goodbyes and headed for the office across the plaza.
"Oh, here you are, Sergeant!" De Soto uttered as he came in.
"You wanted to see me, Alcalde?"
"I did, Mendoza. Please, take a seat!" The white-haired man invited him and he complied. "I've been giving it a lot of thought since last evening, when you brought that horse. I think this is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss! That stallion can lead us straight to Zorro's hideout, and I am relying on you to find it, Mendoza!"
"Zorro's hideout? How, Alcalde?" He asked in a shrieking voice.
"First, you will gain his confidence, Sergeant. I want you to spend the rest of the week taking care of that horse. Nobody but you will feed and groom him. You'll even eat and sleep next to him in the stables!"
"In the stables?" Mendoza asked pleadingly.
"That's what I said." His superior replied, immune to his lancer's reluctance.
"Don't you think another lancer would be more suited for such a mission, Alcalde? Everyone knows I don't love horses too much…" Mendoza uttered, hoping to dissuade his commander. Sleeping in the stables was certainly not something he wanted to try.
"You are my most trusted man, Sergeant, so it has to be you. He's just a mindless animal so you only need to get him to see you as his master, then he'll do anything you ask. And next week, after you'll have gained his confidence, you'll dress as Zorro, mount him, and ask Tornado to take you home. The lancers and I will follow you, so that the horse would be convinced that you are his master. And once he takes you to his hideout, we'll finally know the true identity of that arch being!" De Soto stated triumphantly.
The poor sergeant had no other option but to reluctantly comply.
So, for the next week, he spent his time mainly taking care of Tornado, who simply seemed amused by the company, and happy to be taken care of as he recovered. Felipe tried to sneak in a few times, hoping the stallion might lead him to Diego, but all his clever plans were thwarted by the Sergeant who didn't seem to leave the steed alone for more than a few minutes at the time. Even when he did, another lancer took over his guard duties, as per De Soto's orders.
Eventually, after hearing some of the lancers disclosing part of the Alcalde's plan to use Tornado, when they believed nobody might overhear them, Felipe took the decision to block the back entrance to the cave, and made sure to cover the exterior wooden lever with a thick layer of sand and small rocks, making it impossible to be noticed.
ZZZ
The night was dark as the clouds kept covering the moon, preventing it from lighting their way. Every noise behind them, every missed step made them fear they were doomed, yet they kept moving ahead, following the half-naked, painted man who was their only hope of salvation.
He had made sure the people of the tribe were asleep before they left, and that they wouldn't wake up until late morning, or so Victoria told them. When they were all able to leave their houses, he met them with sixteen of the tribe's horses right at the edge of the forest. The first part of the way they rode, but that was no longer possible as soon as they reached the highest portion of the mountains. There, they needed to walk, just as they had when they were brought to the tribe.
As they started to see the path ahead, they walked faster. A few hours later, they crossed to the hills below and they could finally get back to riding. As tiresome as that was, the horses were still the ones putting in most of the effort, and all they needed to do was make sure to keep themselves on their backs. It was uncomfortable since they had no saddles, but it was still better than walking on the rocky ground.
By midday, most of the young women were half-asleep, so their guide decided to let them rest, eat and drink for a short while, hoping they might recover enough to keep going at least until the following morning. He knew that there was no time to lose and every minute wasted brought the tribe's braves closer and closer to them. Should they catch up, his life would be forfeited and so would the life of the woman he loved. The others would return to their torturous lives as slaves to men who abused and raped them, but he wasn't sure whose fate would be worse: his and Muwaar's or the other women's.
He tried not to think about it. Instead, he focused on the task at hand. While the women were resting, he took the horses and guided them on a different path, then attached some branches behind the last ones and guided them back while also erasing most of their traces. He hoped that would be enough to confuse their pursuers, at least for a while.
In the meantime, as the women who had decided to run away were pondering the destiny of the ones who had chosen to stay behind, Victoria's only concern was Diego and their future together once they'd be back in Los Angeles.
For an excruciatingly-long hour after he had rode away with the horses, as she was making acorn flour flatbreads and mushroom stew for everyone, and the other women were dozing near her, too tired to help, the taverness even wondered if he'd be back, and only calmed down when she saw him return. After he had the chance to eat what his Muwaar had put aside for him, they again mounted and restarted their journey, riding as much and as fast as it was possible, walking when the path was too narrow for them to ride.
Victoria had not told the other women that their guide was, in fact, Diego de la Vega, since she was too afraid they'd make the connection and discover he was also Zorro. All they knew was that he was an Indian who spoke their language, was kind to them, willing to risk his life in order to help them escape, and that his name was Kaweewesh. That was enough, though, as long as he gave them hope that they would soon return to their homes.
Sure, they were fearful of what the people might say and do upon their return. They were no longer virgins, even if none of them gave any sign of pregnancy. At least, not yet. Would they have a future once they'd return home, or would they become destitute? They didn't know that, but they did know that their families loved them, and that was enough. All they truly wanted was to see their parents, brothers, sisters and friends once again.
Their guide maintained the rapid pace for the entire day, as well as for the next night and day after that, until he was certain to have put enough of a distance between them and their pursuers. Some hours after the sun had set on their second day of march, he finally allowed them and himself a few hours of rest, claiming Victoria's lips before she fell asleep in his arms.
He woke up at sunrise and, after checking on their provisions and deciding they didn't have enough food for the day, he left them to go in search of berries, mushrooms and whatever other fruits and plants they might be able to eat and he might find nearby. Had there been any river or lake in their vicinity, he might have been able to catch some fish, but, as things stood, all he could find were berries and some aromatic leaves the Wolf Head Man had taught him to use in order to make an invigorating tea.
By the time he returned they were already awake, wondering where he had gone off to.
After that frugal breakfast, the journey restarted at a similar pace as before.
"He never forced himself on you, has he?" Teresa asked Victoria as they were cantering through some of the lower hills.
"No. He hasn't, Teresa." She replied.
"I think he loves you." The woman stated. "What do you do to get the best ones to fall in love with you, Victoria?"
"I'm just lucky, I guess…" She replied with a smile.
"Will you give up Zorro for him when we get back, or will you give him up for Zorro?" Teresa wondered.
"I… I don't know. I'm not sure Zorro will want me anymore. And I owe Kaweewesh so much…" She replied.
"I guess you are in just as much of a pickle as any of us. I'm not very sure my fiancé will want me anymore, either. And what if I am pregnant with that savage's child? What am I supposed to do then?" The young woman wondered.
Victoria didn't have an answer for her, just as she didn't have an answer to her own dilemmas.
She would have been perfectly happy to spend her life with the Indians as long as she had Diego. Everything was more complicated in Los Angeles, but her biggest fear was that she might lose him. It was the one reason why she had even considered dissuading him when he had decided to help the women escape.
It had been less than a week after the first night they had made love. At the time she could barely stop herself from smiling most of the day as she was eagerly waiting for the siesta and the evenings when she could be alone with her lover. Then, one day, she was reminded that, despite her happiness, most of the other Spanish women taken were suffering.
That happened when the entire village was brutally awakened one afternoon by the cries of one of them, who had been dragged out of the house by the Indian who had claimed her. After the man shouted something in his language, he proceeded to beat her savagely. Kaweewesh immediately got dressed as they heard the cries, and exited to see what had happened. By the time the taverness did the same, he had already attacked the Indian abusing the woman, leaving him bloodied and barely conscious. When that was over, he had to fight several other braves until the Wolf Head Man put an end to the fighting.
After that episode, Victoria realized that something had changed for him, as if he had just notice how cruelly the other women were being treated. A couple of days later, he asked her about it and she had to explain that the others had not been as lucky as her to find love, but, instead, were abused, harmed and quite miserable.
The following day, he spent several hours talking to the Wolf Head Man. Later, when they were alone in their house, he confessed to her that he had tried to convince the tribe's leader to let the women chose if to stay or return to whence they came. The man, unfortunately, did not want to listen to his arguments, stating that, without them, the tribe would soon disappear, since their women had problems conceiving.
Had Victoria harbored any trace of doubt about the fact that Diego and Zorro were one and the same, and that they were both Kaweewesh, it would have been erased the following morning when he informed her of his plan to organize an escape, and left to find some plants he knew could induce a deep sleep when prepared adequately.
The taverness resisted his idea at first, fearing such an attempt might end up costing him his life, but she could hardly argue with his decision to help the women who were suffering. Realizing that inaction would have gone against his very nature, she, eventually, agreed to help him carry out his plan and, once again, put the welfare of others before their own happiness.
ZZZ
As already planned, on the morning of the seventh day after they had found the black stallion, Mendoza put on a black shirt, black pants, black boots, black gloves, a black mask cut so badly around the eyes that he could barely see, then a black hat and a black cape, and headed for the stables.
The neigh the stallion gave at seeing the Sergeant dressed as his master made the poor Mendoza think that he was laughing at him. He did not let that discourage him, though. After carefully saddling the steed, he used a small stool to mount, and, as Tornado did not seem bothered about having him on his back, he let out a sigh of relief and steered him outside of the stables, while the other lancers and the Alcalde saddled their own horses, preparing to give chase.
Felipe, who had just arrived in the pueblo with Don Alejandro, tugged at the don's shirt at seeing Mendoza, dressed as Zorro and mounted on Tornado, exiting the cuartel. Just like the other people in the plaza, they both stared puzzled as the sergeant was trying to get the horse to move, repeating that he wanted to go home.
The stallion shook his head then turned it back as if to see whether the other horses were ready to follow him. Then he looked towards Felipe and nodded his head a couple of times. Moments later, after making sure he was, indeed, being followed, he started galloping away, causing Mendoza to let out a shout of surprise as he tried to regain his already-lost balance.
"After him! If you lose him, I'll have your heads!" De Soto ordered, hoping from the bottom of his heart that the sergeant would be able to keep himself in the saddle.
"Perhaps we should follow them." Don Alejandro suggested, curious to see where the stallion was heading.
Felipe nodded, and soon the two were pursuing the lancers who were following Mendoza on Tornado.
Finally! De Soto thought. I'll finally know the true identity of Zorro!
ZZZ
On the eve of the tenth day of their return journey, just as they were about to exit a forest situated some thirty miles north-east of Los Angeles, they heard the shouts of the Indian braves behind them. They knew that they had been slowly catching up, but, until that moment, they all believed to be further ahead of them that they truly were.
Kaweewesh looked worriedly towards the women. "They are near." He remarked. "You need to go! Ride as fast as you can! I will do my best to keep them back as long as possible." He instructed them. "Go!" He shouted.
Most of them did as they were told, leaving just Victoria and Teresa lagging behind.
"Let's all make a run for it! We know this territory already! Perhaps we can find help!" Teresa uttered as the shouts were getting closer.
"I will not leave you!" Victoria confirmed.
"You must." He replied. "Please! If I am to die, at least let me die knowing you are safe, back with your people!"
"No! I don't want to live if I lose you!" She said as tears were running down her cheeks messing up the remaining paint still covering her face. "Please!"
"Go!" He once again asked her, and slapped her horse's back, getting him to start running.
Kaweewesh then guided his stallion towards some boulders behind which they could find shelter, and took the bow and arrows he had brought with him, preparing to face the Indians.
No sooner he did that that they started pouring out from the woods. He fired his first arrow into the shoulder of the first one to exit the forest, and the second into the leg of the man who did so just after the first. A third arrow found its resting place into the waist of another, but the following two missed their targets. The last three he never had the chance to use as the riders surrounded him. He fought them using the bow, but was soon overcome. Victoria turned her head just in time to see him falling to the ground after being savagely hit on the head, two arrows planted in his back.
The tribesmen left him there and returned to their pursuit, the frightened women realizing they were just minutes away from being caught. There was a hill in front of them, but, as soon as they had passed it and got to the plains, there would be no more impediments for the Indians to push their horses to maximum speed. Then, it was just a matter of time.
Victoria's horse was already tired as she neared the edge of the hill, and, in the state she was, the young woman wanted nothing more than to give up and let those men take her life. The only thing preventing her from doing so was the knowledge that the man she loved sacrificed himself in order to give her a chance to live, even if her situation seemed desperate. Then she suddenly found hope once more.
It came in the form of Sergeant Mendoza, dressed completely in black and sweating heavily from atop Tornado. He was desperately trying to keep his hat on his head and his body in the saddle, but had long since removed the mask and cape, unable to stand them anymore after some fifteen miles of intense riding at the pace set by the black stallion. Behind him, some three hundred feet away, came most of the Los Angeles garrison. Victoria realized that she had never until that moment expected to, one day, be relieved to see De Soto.
"Sergeant!" She shouted as he was looking towards the other women he had just passed by. "The Indians are after us!"
It took him a few moments to realize the woman talking to him was Victoria Escalante since she was barely recognizable under the paint and in those clothes. As he did, he stopped Tornado and turned him around, hoping they would find safety with the other lancers. The stallion initially resisted, but obeyed as soon as he heard the shouts coming from behind the hill.
The other women had meanwhile reached De Soto, bombarding him with explanations he couldn't make sense of. He did understand the 'being followed by Indians' part, though, and his lancers took aim at their pursuers just as the half-dressed men reached the top of the hill. The first bullets injured five braves and killed two, so the Wolf Head Man stopped the others, and, after rapidly weighting their chances while the lancers were reloading their weapons, he turned them back.
De Soto ordered three of his men to escort the abducted women to the pueblo, and the others to follow him in pursuit of the savages. Victoria took the chance to follow the lancers, and Teresa followed her. Neither one noticed Don Alejandro and Felipe as they came riding some two hundred yards behind them.
The lancers pursued the Indians back to the edge of the forest, but hesitated to go any further, realizing they might be easy targets for the natives who had the advantage of knowing the terrain.
"Alcalde!" Gomez shouted at noticing the injured Kaweewesh. "There's one here!"
De Soto went to see him and noticed that the man on the ground was still breathing. "Put him out of his misery!" He ordered his men, just as Victoria dismounted.
"No!" She shouted when three of the lancers took aim, lunching herself on top of her beloved in an attempt to protect him with her own body.
"What are you doing, Señorita?" The Alcalde asked. "Stand aside!"
"He's not one of them! He's… He's Diego!" She told him to Teresa's surprise, just as Don Alejandro and Felipe also got there.
"Diego? My Diego?" The old don wondered, already overwhelmed by happiness at seeing her, and Victoria nodded.
"I don't know what they did to him. He doesn't remember who he is, but he's Diego!" She confirmed as the old man kneeled next to his injured son.
Two arrows had pierced his body, one lodging itself in his shoulder, and another in his back, at a very strange angle.
"He can't be Diego!" De Soto uttered, after studying the half-naked, painted, muscular man before him.
"It's him!" Victoria told Don Alejandro, who seemed quite convinced by her assurance.
"Diego? Can you hear me, Son?" He asked, his voice shaking.
The injured man gave no sign he did.
"We need Doctor Hernandez." The don asked De Soto. "And we need to take him to the hacienda, but not in this condition."
"We also need to leave before nightfall or we'll be sitting ducks if those Indians attack again." De Soto uttered. "Sepulveda," the Alcalde ordered, "ride to the pueblo to inform Doctor Hernandez! Do any of you know anything about medical care?" He then asked his lancers. Felipe raised his hand instead.
De Soto eyed him, his normal annoyed expression on his face, yet clear about why and from whom the young man would have learned, since he had always followed Diego around, and the young don had certainly made sure to teach him everything he knew.
"I have some bandages and alcohol in my saddlebags." The Alcalde stated as he reached to hand the young man his supplies. "But we need to hurry. Get the arrows out and do your best to stop the bleeding. We'll have to get him on a horse so that we might take him back!" He declared. "In the meanwhile, I want everyone on the lookout, just in case those savages decide to return!"
Felipe hurriedly did as asked, and tried to cause the least amount of damage as he took out the arrows, starting with the one in Diego's shoulder. The second one was the most dangerous to take out, and the young man hesitated a little, wondering if it wouldn't be better to leave it there until the doctor could do his work properly. Eventually, he decided to extract it, fearing it might cause both infection and further damage during the ride home. Victoria had also mentioned he had also received a hit to his head, but Felipe found no open injury.
The night was just about to fall when he finished disinfecting and bandaging the injuries. The lancers then helped Don Alejandro mount the still-unconscious Diego on his horse, as Mendoza took the saddle and bridle from Tornado and used it to saddle the horse the injured man had used to get there, determined to never again mount on Zorro's mad, wild stallion. When that was done, they all headed back, the lancers dragging a tied up, unexpectedly tame black steed behind them.
It took the party some six hours to return to the pueblo, and they found Doctor Hernandez already asleep in the hacienda's library as he was waiting for his patient to be brought home. Ramon Escalante was also there, eager to see his sister.
ZZZ
Neither Victoria, nor Felipe or Don Alejandro wanted to sleep that night, despite their tiredness. The old haciendado, with Ramon's support, insisted that the taverness would, at least, get a bath, a hot meal and clean clothes, and she found no way to refuse him. While she was thus engaged, Don Alejandro sent Felipe to bed and Ramon to one of his guestrooms, and used a wet cloth to wash Diego's face and hair.
When the paint was fully gone and he could, once more, recognize his son, despite the almost-two-weeks-long beard adorning his face, the old caballero allowed himself a few tears and a prayer of gratitude to God for having brought him back after he had thought him lost forever. Moments later, he began to shave him, leaving him looking as he had since before he had left for Spain, just a moustache adorning his upper lip.
Felipe didn't head towards his bedroom, certain he would not be able to sleep as his heart was undecided whether to be worried about Diego or simply happy that, at least, he was alive and back home at that very moment.
Not knowing what else to do, he headed for the cave where, at entering, he realized that he had not also cut the string which warned that someone was at the external entrance. Somewhat unsure, he headed towards the big boulder barring the outer world from getting inside, and, looking through the spyhole, he saw Tornado. The stallion seemed to be alone, but Felipe still decided to wait a while before retying the rope to the mechanism opening the entrance. When he was certain nobody had followed the steed, he finally opened for him, went out to greet him, then led him inside, glad to have him back, yet unaware that someone was watching from a nearby hill.
