January 23rd, 1821/ Day 3

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, wondering where he was and how he had gotten there. He had the certainty that he was supposed to be in jail but, instead, he found himself in his bedroom.

"Just a nightmare?" He wondered as he could vividly recall all he had lived through the previous two days. He looked at his hands to see if they were red with blood, but they were just as clean as they had been the previous morning. "It wasn't real! I am not a murderer." He concluded in relief. "Felipe!" He uttered in a panic, getting out of bed, putting on a blue robe and heading for his son's room.

Felipe was blissfully asleep when he was awakened by Diego calling and shaking him. His sleep left him in but a few moments at seeing his adoptive father's desperate face. Diego only calmed down when he saw his son moving around, wondering as to the reason for that rude awakening.

"You are alive!" He uttered, with a clear sigh of relief.

Felipe signaled to ask what was wrong.

"It must have been just a nightmare, Felipe" Diego told him, sitting on his bed. "It is alright. Everything is alright!" He added, as he calmed himself down. "Come, let's have breakfast!" He invited the clearly confused young man.

"What is going on, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked from the door. "Is there something wrong with Felipe?"

"No, he is fine, Father" Diego answered. "I just had a bad dream and seem to have ended up waking the entire hacienda. I will get dressed and meet you both in the dining room for breakfast"

"It's a beautiful day, Diego!" Don Alejandro remarked after taking a look outside. "And since you did insist on waking us up at this hour, I prefer to have breakfast in the patio".

"But, Father...it is still a little chill. You might catch a cold." Diego warned him, unable to shake the need to avoid doing anything that he had done in that confusing nightmare.

"Don't be absurd, son! The weather is perfect!" Don Alejandro decided, and directed himself towards the kitchen, to instruct Maria on where to serve them breakfast.

Diego headed to his room, selected a brown suit and a black sash to wrap around his waist, and headed for the terrace, feeling that something was surely completely wrong.

"Well, Father" Diego announced after absent-mindedly listening to his Don Alejandro's plans for the day "I believe I should be heading for the pueblo. Father, what day is today?" He suddenly asked, making the old don to believe his son was again reading too much and had lost track of time.

"Tuesday, the 23rd, Diego. You certainly know that, since you always go to the port on the 22nd of each month. By the way: anything interesting – on my taste – among the books you bought? I am not sure I can keep my mind on accounting all day."

"Books? Oh, yes, Father. You might like Prometheus Unbound by Shelly. It made for an interesting read". When in the world did I read it?

"I was certain! Another night spent reading. No wonder you had a nightmare! It is probably the lack of sleep." Don Alejandro decided.

"I ...yes, you are probably right, Father!" Diego accepted. "I'll see you later… and please tell Maria not to expect me for lunch." He stood up and went in the library where he took the volume he had just mentioned to his father to have a look at it, realizing that he had, indeed, read it.

Followed by a confused Felipe, Diego mounted Esperanza, and pretended to be heading for town. When they were no longer at risk of being seen from the hacienda, they doubled back and soon entered the cave, leaving the horses not far from the hidden entrance. Once there, Felipe started signaling, asking Diego what was going on.

"One bad dream is one bad dream, Felipe" He answered. "But whatever this was, it was no dream. I have already lived this day and I need to do something about it."

Felipe's gaze seemed more like a silent prayer for Diego to be in good mental health, although he suspected that might not be the case. His father caught it and realized he needed to explain himself better.

"I know it is hard to understand, Felipe. I don't understand it myself. But it is so clear it can't have been a dream! Look, today, a little before 3pm, eight bandits will attack the tavern and, unless I prevent it somehow, it will be a massacre. The first time it happened, they killed Victoria, Mendoza, and a lot of other people, including me. The second time, they killed you and Pilar, I ended up killing them, and my father, Victoria, De Soto and Mendoza came wandering into the cave, which eventually resulted in my incarceration. For some reason, this day is repeating itself, and I believe it happens because I need to make it right. I have to prevent those men from killing anyone!"

Felipe signaled to ask who the men were.

"I don't know, Felipe!" Diego answered. "They were not from Los Angeles, but they seemed to know a lot about the people here, including myself. I did see their faces and I am sure I will be able to recognize them. The problem is that they are ruthless and heavily armed and I cannot risk taking on them when they are in the tavern, because it will just end with a repeat of the situation. I really need to think on how to go about this one."

At noon, Zorro arrived in the pueblo, heading directly towards the tavern. There, he entered through one of the rooms upstairs and made his way to the upper corridor. Making sure the bandits were not yet there, he went back out and waited for Victoria to exit through the kitchen door. As she did, certain that they were not being overheard, he called her and she came running to him with a big smile on her face.

"Are you here for lunch, Zorro?" She asked him.

"I wish I could say yes, Senorita. Unfortunately, I am here because you are in danger. Victoria, I am going to ask you to do something, and I need you to understand that doing what I ask is important. I need you to do as I say or many people may die today."

"Die? Wh...What can I do?" She wondered.

"Victoria, I need you to close the tavern right now. Send everyone away, then saddle your horse and go to the De la Vega Hacienda. Stay there until I tell you that it is safe for you to return. I need you to act quickly. I don't know what time the men I am following might get here, and I need you are away from danger."

"Close now? But I have customers. What do I tell them? How can you even be sure they will come here?" She inquired.

"They will come. Please trust me, mi amor, and do as I ask! You are the most resourceful woman I know. You will find a way to make everyone leave as soon as possible!" Zorro assured her. "I need to go now, before my presence is noticed." He added, tenderly brushing his lips to hers, before heading for Tornado.

Victoria entered the kitchen and, pausing for a few moments to think, she cut some onions, making sure to inhale the smell, then, tears in her eyes, headed for the main lounge and, pretending to have received some devastating news, calmly asked for everyone to leave, informing lunch was not to be served that day and that she needed to close the place down. In order to avoid upsetting her patrons, she declined taking any money for what they were eating or drinking at the time, which prompted everyone to vacate the premises rather rapidly, concerned for her and forgetting any complaint about being kicked out. She then locked the door, and sent Pilar home, insisting she just needed to talk to Don Alejandro. Mounting her mare, she headed towards the De la Vega Hacienda no more than 15 minutes after her most recent encounter with her masked lover.

Satisfied that Victoria had done as he had instructed, Zorro, who had meanwhile made his way to the church and climbed on top of it to have a better view of the surrounding area, awaited the arrival of the eight bandits. They entered the pueblo around 2 pm, just as he was beginning to doubt whether his strange dream was really more than that. As soon as they arrived into the plaza, he took a small crossbow and some arrows he had prepared beforehand with explosive charges, and begun firing in the direction of the eight men.

The explosions took them by surprise, scaring the horses and attracting the attention of the lancers and the Alcalde, who rapidly went out of his office to see what was going on. The bandits, thinking that it was a trap by the soldiers, reacted by drawing their pistols, aiming at the men coming out from the garrison, while the people in the plaza instinctively took cover. Zorro had, meanwhile, changed to normal crossbow arrows, since they were easier to reload than guns, and was aiming at the bandits' hands, making sure they would not shoot the lancers. Several screams of pain accompanied the gunfire but, minutes later, the eight men were surrounded and had given up their weapons.

Satisfied there was no casualty, Zorro hurried towards the cave. Once there, he changed his clothes and, along with Felipe, on Pinto and Esperanza, they rapidly headed back to the hacienda where Victoria was engaged in a discussion with Don Alejandro.

"Victoria!" Diego exclaimed as they entered the house. "What a pleasant surprise! We went by the tavern for lunch, but it was closed. Has anything happened?"

"Buenas tardes, Diego!" She answered. "Nothing bad happened. I just had to close early today, since I had something to discuss with Don Alejandro."

"Something to discuss with my father? Important enough for you to close the tavern? I do hope it is nothing serious!" He seemed concerned.

"Don't worry, Diego!" Don Alejandro replied. "Victoria has already explained everything to me, and I believe I managed to put her mind at ease. Now, how about we get some lunch? Since Victoria closed the tavern, I had a feeling you would return for lunch here, and we were waiting for you two. I sure am famished!"

"Of course, Father!" Diego agreed.

About half an hour later, Senor Peralta came with news from the pueblo regarding the standoff. Diego faked surprise, Felipe faked not hearing, and Victoria and Don Alejandro exchanged a knowing look, that, to their minds translated as I don't know how he does it, but Zorro is always right!

"Thank you for lunch, Don Alejandro, and for your kind advice!" Victoria said with a smile addressed at her host. "I very much enjoyed it, but I do believe it is time for me to return to the tavern. I might be at least able to open for dinner!"

"Nonsense, Victoria!" Diego stated. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off, and stay here, at the hacienda until tomorrow? We would enjoy the company, and you might enjoy some of the new books I bought yesterday, in San Pedro".

"I would love to, Diego, but I do need to get back to work." She replied, standing up and preparing to leave.

"With those bandits in town, I am sure my Father, just as I, would feel much better if you stayed, though! Your patrons will forgive you for closing the tavern for half a day, since it is hardly ever closed." The tall caballero insisted.

"That is true, Victoria. Diego is right. If Zorro warned you about those men, who is to say the Alcalde has the situation under control, even if they are in prison?" Don Alejandro wondered.

"Zorro warned you about them?" Diego inquired, pretending to be surprised by the news. "Well, clearly, Zorro thought you'd be safer here, at the hacienda."

"You might be right, Diego. But I don't even have a nightgown. I should at least go back to take some of my things." Victoria replied.

"You don't have to do that. One of my cousins from Spain forgot some of her things here a few years ago – I do believe some nightgowns are among them - and I am sure she wouldn't mind you borrowing them, especially since I doubt she will ever reclaim the items. We will have a guestroom prepared for you, and I will have them brought there, so you needn't worry about a thing."

"Are you sure she wouldn't mind, Diego?" Victoria asked, unsure if to accept.

"Absolutely!" He confirmed with a smile on his face, winking at his father who was watching him with some confusion, since he had no recollection of the cousin in question, or of the things she might have left behind.

Diego asked the servants to prepare a spare guestroom for Victoria and, making sure no one saw him, took a nightgown, a dress and some toiletries he had bought during one of his trips to Monterey as gifts for Victoria – gifts he had intended to give her as Zorro - and brought them to her room, leaving them on the bed. After informing her that all the things she needed were already in the guestroom, he wished her a good siesta and returned to the dining room, where his father was awaiting an explanation.

"Whose things did you give her, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked as soon as he got there. "And what is that story about the cousin leaving her things here? I am quite sure you made that up, Son!"

"I did, Father" Diego admitted. "The truth is… I bought them for Zafira, when I was in Spain. They were supposed to be hers, but I never got the chance to give them to her, and I realized that I had brought them with me only when I unpacked upon my return. I wanted to give them to Victoria, but they did not seem like an appropriate gift to make to a friend." He added.

"I see… And you are right. There is nothing appropriate in gifting a woman nightgowns, unless you are at least engaged to her. Certainly not if the woman is just a dear friend." Don Alejandro agreed with his son. "Victoria is just a friend, is she not, Diego?"

"Of course she is, Father." Diego confirmed with a nod and a genuine smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe there are some new books in the library waiting for me."

"I wouldn't want to stay in the way of your readings, Son!" Don Alejandro grinned at him, then turned around and headed towards his room for a much-deserved nap.

Diego headed for the library to start on a new book, wondering if the nightmare was finally over, now that everyone was safe and the bandits were behind bars.

Victoria joined him about two hours later, after she had had her siesta, and took on reading his volume of Robin Hood which, his father informed her later, was one of Diego's favorite novels.

The afternoon and the evening passed by quickly.

Diego won two out of three games of chess to his father and lost two to Felipe. They discussed books, art, music, and shared another meal together, all of them feeling that they were nothing less than a true family.

Victoria stayed with Diego a little later, asking him questions about Mexico City and Monterrey, none of which she had visited, sharing news of her brothers, one of which had married and already had a child, and remembering adventures that got the four of them into trouble when they were youngsters. Felipe had remained with them for a while, but eventually left around 9 pm, allowing for the two to continue their conversation in private for over one more hour. When they were ready to go to sleep, Diego accompanied Victoria to her room and, pretending he was heading towards his, he returned to the library, and disappeared through the hidden panel in the fireplace.

Too ecstatic to sleep after having spent a beautiful evening with Victoria, Zorro decided to do a night ride to cool down his head and, about half an hour later, he found himself heading towards the pueblo to find out if everything was alright with the bandits. As he arrived in Los Angeles from the east, he noticed the great state of agitation of the cuartel, where the lancers were fighting to take out some wounded men, and to extinguish a fire which had engulfed the armory. Decided to help as much as possible, he guided Tornado towards the cuartel's gates, and asked Mendoza what had happened and what he could do to help. The Sergeant was in a state of shock and confusion, and it took him a while to understand and answer his questions.

"The bandits we caught at noon escaped!" He said. "They had more accomplices. Those men came to free them, and then they blew up the armory! Five of my men are dead, two more are wounded, and there are some we didn't find yet."

"Where is De Soto?" Zorro inquired.

"I ... I don't know! I haven't seen him." Mendoza told him, only at that point noticing his commander was nowhere in sight.

Zorro entered the office of the Alcalde, and headed towards his private rooms to discover his former colleague shot through the heart in his bed. He remained there, frozen, staring at his body till Mendoza came following him.

"Madre de Dios! They killed him!" The Sergeant exclaimed.

"Which way did they go?" Zorro asked.

"North. They went north, Zorro." Came the reply.

"The De la Vega Hacienda is north." Zorro pointed out with an uncharacteristically shaken voice, as he made his way back towards the entrance, mounted Tornado, and headed home.

Pushing Tornado to maximum speed, he arrived at the Hacienda less than ten minutes later, finding the door open and hearing screams and a shot coming from inside the house. With an intense feeling of dread, he made his way through the main entrance, and found his father wounded, in the library.

He went straight to him, but Don Alejandro refused any help and begged him to help his family and Victoria. Hearing the bandits at the back of the house, he made his way towards them and, after disarming and knocking out six of the men, he found Felipe and sent him to tend to his father with instructions to move the old don to the cave.

Moments later, he headed down the corridor to help Victoria. By the time he arrived, four men were in her room, and Victoria was lying unconscious on her bed, badly bruised, blood on her legs. Angry at the scene, Zorro made a point to badly injure the men, leaving them alive but unconscious. He then headed straight towards Victoria to make sure she was alive. Finding her pulse, he took her in his arms, and carried her to the hidden passage into his sanctuary, where Felipe was already tending to his father's wound. Once there, he checked to see that Victoria didn't have any open wound on her, and found the young woman to have only some big bluish bruises on her face and hands. He knew that the blood tainting the bottom half of her nightgown and her legs was also hers, but did not dare look for its source as he lay her in his chair.

Assured she was not severely injured, he headed to check for his father's wound, just as Tornado returned on the back entrance to the cave. Don Alejandro was unconscious, and he had lost a lot of blood. He bandaged his wound as he heard the lancers outside the hacienda engaging the remaining bandits, who had meanwhile regained consciousness. The gunshots lasted for ten minutes as he did his best to prevent his father from bleeding to death. Felipe helped him improvise a mattress with some straws and blankets they kept in the cave, and he made sure his father was resting comfortably. He then headed towards the sliding panel, and blocked it at hearing the lancers entering the hacienda in search of its occupants.

Victoria woke up some time later, terrified at remembering what had happened. He hurried by her side when he heard her move on the chair but she was too shocked to let him touch her and retreated when he wanted to embrace her. She was trembling, trying to cover herself with an invisible blanket, and he rushed to bring her one. Victoria took it, brought her feet up at her chest, and begun rocking herself in the chair.

"You are safe now, Victoria!" He told her in a calm tone, trying to reassure her. "No one will hurt you here!" He added, reaching to caress her hair, his hand being met with a violent twitch. "I am so sorry, mi amor, I am so sorry!" He uttered, accusing himself for having left the hacienda.

Minutes later, Felipe became agitated and raced to him indicating something was wrong with Don Alejandro. His father was breathing heavily and convulsing.

"Father!" He shouted as the old man was trembling in his arms. "Hold on, Father! Please, hold on! His lung must be punctured, Felipe. We need Doctor Hernandez! Take Tornado and be careful! Some of the bandits may still be out there! Bring the doctor here as soon as possible! And take some guns, just in case!"

Felipe nodded, took two primed pistols, mounted Tornado without hesitation, and left in a hurry to bring Doctor Hernandez, while Zorro was holding Don Alejandro, trying to help him through the convulsions.

Doctor Hernandez arrived at the cave, seated on Tornado behind Felipe, half an hour later. He headed towards where Zorro was hugging Don Alejandro and tried to pull him from his embrace in order to check on his wound, but Zorro did not let him go. He was just sitting there with his father in his arms, his mask wet from his tears, and Doctor Hernandez noted with sadness that the old don was already dead.

"You need to check on Victoria, Doctor" Zorro asked him, his eyes lost on his father's face. "I believe they... She is bleeding, but doesn't have any wound. She doesn't let me touch her."

"Yes, of course...I am sorry for Don Alejandro...Diego!" He uttered after realizing who their masked hero was at seeing his determination not to let go of the dead man, and Felipe's familiarity with Zorro's hideout.

"It was my fault this happened," Zorro replied. "I went for a ride. I had the feeling something bad was going to happen today. I should have never left them!"

"You cannot take the weight of the world on your shoulders, son! Some events are out of your control." The doctor tried to encourage him as he was preparing a drink to calm Victoria down and get her to sleep.

She never heard anything that happened around her. She swallowed the drink, and fell asleep. The doctor examined her, confirming the severity of the attack she had to endure.

"I did all I could for her, Diego." Doctor Hernandez said as he finished his examination and treatment. "She will need you to be strong now. It will take a lot of patience and time, but she will recover." He assured him.

Zorro stood up, carefully placing his father back on the blanket, took off his mask, changed his clothes, and return to carry the body of Don Alejandro to his room, where he laid him on his bed. The hacienda was empty, so he locked all the doors and windows, then he headed back to the cave where he asked a traumatized Felipe to return to Los Angeles with the doctor. He had to ask a few times until the young man understood what he needed to do.

When they were gone, he took Victoria in his arms and brought her to his room where he put her on the bed, covered her in two blankets and laid down, pulling her in his arms, and holding her tight before falling asleep.

Author's note: Yes...still terrible scenes, I know. You mist hate me by now, but stik with it! It is always darker before the dawn. Just bear with me a while longer. Everything will be fine in the end.