Several months soon went by, and, in all that time, it was Diego, not Zorro, the one man occupying most of Victoria's thoughts and prayers. That is not to say she stopped thinking about Zorro. Of course, she didn't, since he was the man she loved.

He was also a man who had not made any appearance in the pueblo since he had come to warn her about the bounty hunters, and the taverness wondered if what had happened to her friend had led to his disappearance. The caballero's current state was a result of Zorro's existence, and his sacrifice had been the one reason she, herself, was still alive. Perhaps, she reflected, their legendary defender had concluded that the price for his continued existence was too high. After all, it was not the first time he had considered giving up.

Or, perhaps, he took the decision that he no longer needed to fight… She told herself one day, thinking of all the changes which had taken place in Los Angeles lately.

Some seven weeks after Diego was injured, and, ironically, as he finally started to behave better, orders came from Monterey for De Soto to return to Spain, where he was to stand trial for a series of charges brought against him by the Los Angelinos, including his responsibility in the attack on the caballero and the taverness. That happened because one of the young women of the pueblo had recently married the son of one of the Governor's closest friends, and had convinced her husband to intervene on behalf of the people. The official was incredulous when he first listened to his accounts, just as he had been when reading all the letters the dons had sent him, but, this time, he allowed himself to be persuaded to start an investigation, one which led to his decree and De Soto's downfall.

Their now former alcalde boarded the ship for Spain only two weeks before the Mexican troops rode in, claiming the rule over the Californias.

A new alcalde was, then, elected, for the first time in a decade, and the father of the young woman who had helped them get rid of De Soto was victorious against a newly-arrived young don nobody trusted or knew very well yet.

The first thing the man did on taking office was to issue a pardon for Zorro, asking for their masked hero to come claim it and unmask, so they'd all know to whom they owed their gratitude. When he didn't, the new alcalde still made sure to inform all the other garrisons in the territory about the pardon, asking them to take off the posters offering a bounty on the masked man.

Victoria had not even gone to the pueblo when the unmasking was due to take place, and part of her was glad that their masked hero hadn't gone either. The other part of her was, like most of the Los Angelinos, troubled by unanswered questions about the man she loved.

Just like her, many others had, initially, concluded that Zorro's sudden disappearance was either a result of the guilt he was certainly feeling about Diego or the result of De Soto not having done anything to determine his intervention. When the new alcalde was chosen, they hoped he would unmask, but even his decision not to show up to receive his full pardon many agreed was probably due to his intention to wait and see if the pueblo's new leader would, indeed, prove an improvement on the former ones. Still, all they could do was speculate, since nobody knew anything for sure.

As for the De la Vegas, Don Alejandro was one of only two people in Los Angeles who were wondering if Zorro's disappearance had even more to do with Diego's current condition than others believed. He never asked the question on his mind out loud, since he wasn't sure whom to ask. He suspected Felipe might be able to answer it, but he wasn't sure the young man would, anyway. In fact, he wasn't even sure if the answer to it would matter at that point. After all, if it was the one he had begun to suspect, what good would it do to his son or anyone else, for that matter? He, thus, decided that he'd prefer not knowing for certain, at least not unless Diego woke up one day and confess everything.

Felipe who had often wondered, since his father had been injured, whether he should tell everyone the truth, also decided against doing so, for practically the same reason which had stopped Don Alejandro from asking him the one question he wanted to ask: he didn't see what good revealing his father's greatest secret would do for the ones he loved, now that he might never wake up again.

Instead, he continued to take care of Tornado and to look after Diego's experiments, kept up his own pretense, and, when the pardon was announced, asked Mendoza for one of Zorro's posters as the Sergeant was taking it off of the garrison's notice board. The good man gave it to him, eying him somewhat puzzled as he noticed the young man's grief at looking at it. Felipe thanked him and took the poster to the hacienda, where he framed it, and hung it in the cave.

Then, as time passed and the chances for his adoptive father to ever wake up again diminished, even Doctor Hernandez giving up on him, he decided to free Tornado. He did so, on the one hand, because he felt bad about continuing to keep the stallion in a cave, and, on the other hand, because every time he saw him, the horse just reminded Felipe that his father would never ride him again.

The steed, however, had a mind of his own. He understood the young man's decision for what it was, and just watched him leave on his pinto horse after having guided him close to where they had first met. Then Tornado realized he didn't want to be free anymore. He liked his humans, even if his favorite one hadn't visited in a long time.

On the other hand, he was also tired of staying in that cave, where he had been mostly by himself since his rider had stopped coming to see him.

That was how, the evening of the day Felipe had freed the stallion, as he returned with his men to the hacienda, Don Alejandro found Zorro's horse in his courtyard, munching on some of his rose bushes. He immediately took him to a stable, made sure he had enough food, water, and plenty of space, instructed his men to let him in the mares' corral the following day, then returned to the courtyard to assess the damages.

News about the don's unexpected acquisition spread fast throughout the territory, leading to new questions being asked about the masked legend. Had he left California? Was that why he had freed his steed, and, if not, why had he done so?

Is he no longer in love with me? Victoria sometimes wondered in turn as she watched the stallion run in the corral. Or is he unwilling to take me away from Diego, and that is why he's abandoned me, as he's abandoned everyone else? All the better! I have no intention of going anywhere. She'd bitterly tell herself when those thoughts came to her.

Several dons tried to buy Tornado from Don Alejandro. Some even suggested that it wasn't fair for him to own the stallion and they should all share in his ownership, since Zorro had, in a way, belonged to them all. The old De la Vega, however, was quite certain by that point that Zorro had always belonged to him more than he had to any of them, and refused to even consider relinquish his claim over the steed. Unfortunately for him, though, the horse had long since become as legendary as his master and, as there was no lack of horse breeders interested in acquiring him at prices rivaling a king's ransom, just a few weeks after Don Alejandro had found him, two bandits made up their minds to steal him.

The old caballero, who started spending much of the time he wasn't dedicating to his son taking care of Tornado, had just finished stabling him one evening when, at exiting the stall, he felt a shovel impacting with his head. He fell forward and hit his head a second time on the wooden enclosure, but the second hit he didn't even feel as he was already unconscious. By the time he came to his senses, the thugs had already managed to ride away with their prize.

Furious, despite being barely able to walk, Don Alejandro came stumbling into the hacienda about half an hour after having been hit, blabbering about riding after Tornado. Victoria and Felipe barely managed to get him to his bed, where he immediately lost consciousness again. Doctor Hernandez was called in the middle of the night to assess his injuries, the severity of which he only discovered the following morning, when he chose to do an experimental surgery in a desperate attempt to save the old don's life.

From that day on, Victoria became Diego's permanent caregiver, as she realized Felipe needed to take permanent care of his grandfather, at least until the older man would get better.

She, thus, had a cot installed for her in Diego's room, so that she'd be able to be there day and night, and asked Doctor Hernandez for instructions on how to properly care for the caballero. The old man doubted for a few moments if he should comply with her request, but agreed at seeing her devotion towards her friend, even though he assummed Felipe would still be the one doing most of what was necessary.

Victoria turned completely red the first time she undressed the young caballero in order to wash him. It was the morning after Don Alejandro had been operated on, and Felipe was assisting Doctor Hernandez with caring for his grandfather. The men usually washed him every two days but, considering the new circumstances, he had not been washed in three. So, she told herself that she might as well take the bull by the horns and just do it.

With but little hesitation, she pushed away the covers and slowly pulled Diego's nightshirt up until she was able to fully remove it. Aware he was completely naked, yet not daring to actually glance further south than his chest, she took a cloth, wet it, wrung out the excess soapy water, then started washing his shoulders, slowly making her way down towards his legs.

That first time she did it, she kept her eyes mainly on his face and shoulders, trying not to even glance towards his more intimate parts. By the end of that week, though, Diego's body no longer held any mystery for her.

When the old don started walking around again and insisted to take back his duties towards his son, Victoria bluntly informed him that she had taken care of everything for the past two weeks and, thus, there was no longer any reason why she shouldn't continue to do so.

At first, her attitude both amazed and aghast the Don Alejandro. That was until he reminded himself that his son was the man she had promised herself to, the man she was supposed to marry, had things turned out differently. Had the man behind Zorro's mask told her the truth or had not chosen to become an outlaw in the first place, he reflected, Victoria would have already been his wife. And had her husband been injured, lying in a bed as Diego was, she would be the one most entitled to care for him.

Strangely enough, while the old don understood her devotion towards his son for what it truly was, even if he had yet to utter a single word about the secret he now knew, Victoria's attitude was a complete mystery to herself. She had no idea why she was behaving like that, refusing a father the right to take care of his only son while she did that for a man to whom she was neither related nor married. All she understood was that she would not leave Diego, come what may. If Don Alejandro would, at some point, get tired of having her around and ask her to go away, she was determined to just come back through the window, sleep on the floor or do whatever she'd have to do in order to stay. If Zorro himself came to claim her as his wife, she'd condition their marriage by his acceptance of the situation and their stay at the hacienda.

The masked man did not come for her, though, just as Don Alejandro never even considered asking her to leave.

ZZZ

In the meantime, the two thugs who had almost killed the old caballero were caught by the lancers stationed at Capistrano, after Tornado managed to attract their attention and escape in the ensuing fight.

Mendoza and Sepulveda, who were sent to bring them to Los Angeles for their trial, however, managed to botch that mission, and found themselves those thugs' prisoners instead.

"What do you think they'll do with us, Sergeant?" Sepulveda whispered as they were tied up in the middle of nowhere, watching the bandits rummaging through their saddlebags.

"You! Shut up or I'll personally run you through with your own sword!" One of the thugs threatened, addressing Sepulveda.

The two lancers shut their mouths, praying they would make it out alive, but somewhat aware that only Zorro could have saved them, and he didn't seem to be around anymore since he had left Tornado to Don Alejandro.

In the morning they woke up to find that the bandits had left them stranded in the desert, taking away their horses. About two hours later, as they were still unable to rid themselves of the ropes binding their hands and feet, Mendoza started complaining that they'd soon die of hunger, just as Sepulveda saw a black horse in the distance.

"Do you think that's Tornado, Sergeant?" He wondered.

"So what if he is?" His superior asked.

"We could ask him to help us free ourselves." The man replied.

"Don't be stupid, Corporal. What do you think will happen? We'll call him and he'll come free us?" As he said that, they both exchanged a glance and, moments later, started calling Tornado's name.

The stallion, who was grazing at the time, moved his ears in their direction and lifted his head, studying them for several minutes before slowly walking towards them.

"It's working, Sergeant!" Sepulveda exclaimed.

The horse stopped when he was some twenty feet away from the two.

"Do you think he's recognized us and that's why he's refusing to come closer?" Sepulveda asked, as they were both staring at the stallion.

"I hope not! Come, Tornado! Good horsey!" Mendoza uttered, but the steed made no move towards them and, by the way he was checking out his surroundings, he seemed to be considering heading in a different direction. "Please help us, or we'll die out here!" The Sergeant begged when he started running out of ideas about how to convince the horse.

The stallion shook his head and took another good look around, as if to see if anybody was watching, then took a few more steps and, as soon as he reached them, he started chewing on the rope binding Mendoza's hands.

Some minutes later, as they were finally free of the ropes, the lancers got up and started shaking their hands and feet, hoping to feel them again after spending the last 20 hours in the same position. Tornado watched them curiously.

"Do you know which way to Los Angeles?" Mendoza asked the horse after a short discussion with Sepulveda during which they both agreed they had no idea how to get back to their garrison since they didn't know where they were exactly.

The stallion nodded twice.

"Do you think he understood your question, Sergeant?" The Corporal asked him.

"He is the smartest horse around, so he probably did." He answered.

"I've always wanted to ride him," Sepulveda confessed.

Tornado eyed him before vehemently shaking his head.

"I doubt that will happen, Corporal!" Mendoza uttered. "Would you like to come back to Los Angeles with us?" He then asked Tornado, who simply started walking away.

Shrugging his shoulders, the Sergeant looked towards his companion, and the two followed the steed who stopped from time to time to see if they were still walking behind him.

At first, Tornado had tried to get them to walk faster since he had been away for several days already and just wanted to get home. Seeing the sights and looking for mares was no longer any fun, plus, he had several he liked back at his humans's house. That, however, only led to him having to go back for his unusual travel companions a few times, and he was getting rather annoyed with how slow those particular humans were moving.

Some twenty miles, ten breaks, and still no food later, Mendoza asked Sepulveda to go on without him, dramatically deciding that where they were was as good a spot to die as any other. Soon, however, as he lay on the ground, he was surprised to see the steed nearing him. When he was just two feet away, Tornado stood still and slowly turned his head, as if indicating the Sergeant should mount him. The two men once more glanced at each other in surprise, then scratched their heads, before Sepulveda helped Mendoza get onto the horse. Tornado made a few steps, then seemed to have changed his mind, returned to the Corporal, and repeated his head gesture.

"You think he'd also let me ride him?" The man asked his superior.

About two hours later the two lancers were making their way into the pueblo atop the black steed everyone recognized. People got out of the tavern and the new alcalde exited his office just to see them.

The two dismounted and politely thanked the horse for the ride. The stallion nodded once, then made his way out of the pueblo and straight towards the cave, where Felipe found him munching on some hay about two hours later. The young man looked at him, relieved that the horse was fine; chose to take his return as a good sign; and didn't try to free him again, just restarted caring for him and gave him the freedom to come and leave the cave as he pleased. Don Alejandro was also happy to see him in his corral the following day and did not try to find out where he'd go at night, simply glad that the stallion was safe. He did smile, though, to notice his adopted grandson restarted his custom of vanishing for an hour or two every morning and every evening.

ZZZ

Victoria first realized she had somehow become a de facto De la Vega, even if not in name, when, one day, she returned from the pueblo with several packages she had acquired, and the stable hand who had driven her there by carriage immediately climbed down, offering a hand and addressing her as 'Doña Victoria'. The young woman stared at him in surprise, but the man didn't even notice his mistake.

The next time she was called a 'doña' was just a week later, when a haciendado from Buenaventura came looking for Don Alejandro. She had left Felipe with Diego and was in the library, selecting a new book to read to her friend, when a servant let the don in, and asked both her and the visitor what to serve them, obviously expecting she would be entertaining the guest until his master's return.

The caballero, who was a recent acquaintance of Don Alejandro's, simply assumed that she was the mistress of the house. He, thus, respectfully inquired about the hacienda - and she surprised even herself to notice she knew almost everything there was to know about it - then parted with her about twenty minutes later, bowing and kissing her hand, as he followed the old don, mentioning what a good hostess 'Doña Victoria' had been.

She watched them exit the hacienda, wondering if Don Alejandro had even heard his new friend calling her that since he made no attempt to contradict the younger man.

As she returned to Diego's room, some five minutes later, she realized that he had not contradicted him because, for all intends and purposes, she was living there now, as a member of the family, but was not his daughter, so he probably started to see her as his son's wife. Looking towards the sleeping man, she wondered at that point if she was his wife and had simply forgotten that. Moments later she shook her head and chided herself for having silly thoughts, but, after that day, every now and then, her mind kept coming up with examples to demonstrate that she was, in fact, Diego's wife, if not in God's eyes, in everyone else's.

Every time she'd go to the pueblo, people would ask her about him, while they barely asked Don Alejandro; when someone would come to the house to visit with him, it was her permission either said visitor or the servants requested; whenever an invitation would arrive at the hacienda, whether for a baptism, a wedding or a dinner party, she was also mentioned in it by name, sometimes even as 'Doña Victoria', an appellative she still could not understand why people insisted on using despite most, if not all of them, knowing fully well she was unmarried.

After five months there, however, she finally had to admit to herself that there was not much difference between what she did for her friend and what a wife would do for her husband under similar circumstances.