It was early in the evening now, and the temperature was getting quite pleasant. On the tavern´s veranda there was a huge buffet. Maria and Pilar had slaved for days over the many delicious dishes, and many women in the pueblo had contributed to the food as well. After all, if this was to be the wedding of the year, they could do with a good party. Sergeant Mendoza went around licking his lips, and of course he couldn´t resist trying a little bite here and there.
A group of musicians had taken its position on the balcony of the tavern, and it didn´t take long for the entire plaza to be filled with swirling couples, dancing to their heart´s content at the inciting rhythm of the Spanish music.
The new Don Felipe soon found himself surrounded by eligible young ladies aged ten up to some thirty years old, admiring his every feature. His fine clothes were praised excessively, and especially his beautiful big brown eyes caught their attention. Comparisons were made with the eyes of soft cuddly animals like rabbits, deer and young brown bears, and since his way of speaking did not imply sounds, they simply chattered and chattered away over him themselves. And of course they all declared his clever way of speaking with his hands to be extremely cute, and not at all hard to understand.
Although he felt flattered by all this attention, Felipe tried hard to keep a clear head. He figured that those who had not noticed those ´terribly handsome and so very attractive´ features of his while he had been dressed in ordinary clothes, would most probably be more enticed by his new status as the next De la Vega heir than by himself. He had heard enough stories from Diego - about young ladies setting their caps for him, just because of him being the proclaimed catch of the territory - to be disgusted by such practices. If he were to marry one day (and that was probably years away) he wanted to marry for love. Like Diego and Victoria had. Instead of falling prey to some female fortune-hunter.
But all the same, he couldn´t deny that it was nice to be at the center of attention all of a sudden. With lots of people - and not just eager young ladies - introducing himself to him. As if he didn´t know every man, woman and child in the entire pueblo by name: he had been living among them for over ten years. And also: whenever he wanted to dance, he could just take his pick among a whole bunch of swooning young ladies, and they all felt ever so honoured to dance with him. Being a De la Vega sure did have its advantages...
Don Alejandro took a few turns around the dancefloor, too. But mostly he was talking to his friends, beaming with love and pride of his son, his new daughter, and his adopted grandson, and assuring everyone that he was ever so happy about Diego finally providing him with the grandchild he had always longed for. And he couldn´t help chuckling whenever he looked in Felipe´s direction, always in the center of a group of young ladies. Why, the lad probably felt like the proverbial caterpillar having turned into a beautiful butterfly!
When the people had left the church, the alcalde had been lying in an ambush in order to catch Zorro - just in case he should show up at Victoria´s wedding again. But as the music started playing and dancing couples started to fill the plaza, and no appearance from Zorro seemed to occur, the temptation to participate in the festivities became too much for the alcalde. So he called off his soldiers, and he, too, started to try his hand at courting the ladies in the plaza. He asked all the pretty ones to dance with him, and even though no one liked to be romanced by someone like the alcalde, very very few had the guts to refuse him his dance. Consequently, De Soto felt the party was a great success for him.
Sergeant Mendoza however spent most of his time at the tavern´s veranda, munching in all the delicious food he could lay his hands on. Maria tried to distract him by asking him to dance with her, but no matter how pleasantly such a dance would pass, as soon as it was over he would always return to the tempting buffet loaded with food. So in the end Maria gave up and let him have his way.
Victoria did one dance with Don Alejandro, and one with her brother. The rest of the time she simply confiscated her Diego, and would not share him with anyone else. And Diego didn´t mind of course. The only one he wished to dance with was Victoria. He just loved to have her in his arms, to feel her against his chest when they danced. And to feel the beginning of her baby-belly. Her pregnancy had started to show lately, and Victoria had been quite worried for her dress. Fortunately, the folds magically disguised the curve of her belly, and the high waist of the dress did the rest. But there was no way he could escape feeling that beautiful little belly when he had her in his arms. Again and again it gave him a jolt of happiness. Not only had he finally married the woman of his dreams; soon he would be a father, too! But for now they happily whirled across the plaza together, with everyone giving them encouraging smiles and nods as they passed by. No matter how it had started, Don Diego de la Vega and his Doña Victoria were now generally proclaimed to be the happiest couple in all of California; nay, in the Spanish empire!
"I love you, Victoria," Diego panted as they took a break from the dancefloor to catch their breath after a few particularly inciting dances. He leaned against the wall of the cuartel and drew her in his arms again. "I love you so very very much..."
The sound of many galloping horsehooves arose them from their kiss.
"Now what..." Victoria muttered annoyed as they saw a company of foreign soldiers carefully searching its way through the festivities to the center of the plaza. She moved closer to be able to hear what this was all about. There wasn´t going to be a war now, was there? Diego followed her - just as curious, as well as reluctant to even let his new wife out of his sight.
The musicians had suddenly broken off their tune, and everyone in the plaza turned to look at the unfamiliar uniform of the soldiers. An uneasy hush fell over the plaza as the soldiers´ leader - a colonel - took out a parchment role from his saddlebag.
"Citizens of Los Angeles!" he boomed over the pueblo. "Let it be known that earlier this year, king Ferdinand of Spain has sold the Californian territories to the new independent state of Mexico. Therefore, you may all regard yourselves as Mexican citizens from now on. All private landownership will be respected, and all civilians are free to either stay, or sell their land and leave the territory. All that is required is for the local Spanish authority to leave the Mexican territory within 48 hours. All other Spanish officials, officers and soldiers are given the choice of either pledging their allegiance to Mexico, or leaving the territory with their alcalde."
For a moment there was nothing but stunned silence as people digested this news. Victoria frowned and muttered to Diego: "What kind of a king is that, to simply sell us to another country!?"
Diego only shrugged in reply. His mind was busy trying to oversee the consequences of this change. Did this mean a revolution? A lot would depend on how the people would take this news. He had no idea if this would turn out to be a change for the better or for the worse, but he hoped sincerely that at least it would not turn into a massacre. If necessary, he would have to try and convince the people to at least give their new Mexican government a chance. For if the king really had sold California to Mexico, then there was nothing the people could change about that.
Then the alcalde stepped forward. "I´m sorry, señor, but I don´t believe you," he said, sternly looking up at the colonel up on his horse. "Spain may be many, many miles away, but don´t you think the king would let us know himself if he intended to sell our pueblo and all of our territory to some petty new state?"
The colonel´s face hardened. "Señor, it´s not Mexico´s fault that the king of Spain has not informed you. But to assure you of the truth: here is the royal deed, signed by the king himself, stating that all of Spanish California will be under Mexican rule from now on."
The alcalde grabbed the parchment out of the colonel´s hand and examined it under the tense expectation of the people of Los Angeles. And he couldn´t help it: his eyes widened as he became aware of its authenticity and of the devastating content of the document. He held it up to the light to check the watermark. And to win time. He had always dreamt about going back to Madrid. But not like this, not by being ordered by some treacherous upstart! "Who are you, anyway?" he demanded as he casually tried to embezzle the incriminating document.
It took but a short nod from the colonel to have two of the Mexican soldiers appear next to the alcalde and retrieving the document from him. They returned it to their leader, and reassumed their places. "I, señor," the colonel said coldly, "am colonel Vieira, official emissary from the independent Mexican government. I am sorry to disappoint you, but the king of Spain himself has decided to take his hands off California. And since you are his representative here if I am not mistaken, you will have to leave the territory. You may go back to Spain or anywhere you wish. Either by your own free will or with force. But I would recommend that you decide for yourself where you want to go. For I have been told that making a sea-voyage in a small cell is not so pleasant."
The alcalde fumed, and a few people chuckled. But then Don Alejandro stepped forward, too. "Then how does the Mexican government intend to govern this pueblo, colonel? Are your men to stay here?"
The colonel - known in his country to be an excellent judge of character - looked at him. And what he saw did not displease him: an elder, leading caballero, who clearly had the good of the people at heart. And he smiled. An honest smile, which Don Alejandro could not mistake either. "No, señor. My men and I have to go on to the other pueblos to announce the take-over. But we will appoint a local temporary alcalde for the time-being until more definite arrangements will be made."
Don Alejandro nodded. As a confirmed royalist, faithful to his king and his country, he did not find it easy to be happy with this sudden change of government. His heart ached to know that he was now practically a stranger in his own country, and he wondered if he would be allowed to regard himself as a Spanish citizen when the territory was governed by Mexico. To become a Mexican citizen out of his own free will was not really an option with the old nobleman. But leaving the territory, the land he had devoted his life to, was not particularly tempting either, and he decided quietly for himself that for once he would wait and see how things were to turn out. Before making such far-stretching decisions.
In the meantime colonel Vieira called out: "Sergeant Jaime Mendoza!"
"Sì, colonel!" Mendoza stumbled forward through the crowd, and finally stood at attention at the alcalde´s side.
"Sergeant, you are from Mexico if I have been well informed. Is that not so?" the colonel inquired. He didn´t sound at all unfriendly, and Mendoza hurried to confirm the information: "Sì, colonel. I was born and grew up on a farm near Guadalajara."
The colonel nodded. "Sergeant Mendoza, are you willing to serve your own country from now on, and pledge your allegiance to Mexico instead?"
People gasped. It was true: everybody knew that Mendoza´s roots lay in Mexico!
Mendoza himself swallowed and looked around nervously. Every man and woman in the plaza was looking at him, waiting for him to answer. He had the impression that his answer would determine the lives of all his fellow Angelinos. But what was he to choose? Should he obey the fuming ex-alcalde next to him and be forced to leave California with him? Or should he give in to the apparently friendly colonel in front of him, even though he didn´t have a clue about what the Mexican government was planning to do with California?
"Desertion is treason, sergeant!" De Soto hissed at him. "If you dare to go over to that so-called Mexican army, then I shall personally see to it that you will hang!"
Mendoza swallowed with difficulty, but Don Alejandro had heard the alcalde´s words, too, and his voice rang out over the plaza: "Alcalde, let the sergeant make up his own mind, will you! With the way things are now, you have no commanding power over him!"
De Soto drew himself up to his full height in an attempt to look down on Don Alejandro. "I will have you know that nobody but I am his commanding officer, and..."
"Not in Mexican California!" the colonel retorted. But then he turned to Mendoza again. "Well, sergeant?" he asked in a far friendlier tone.
Mendoza swallowed again. "I will be happy to serve my own country, colonel," he struggled out.
The alcalde exploded. "You swine! You are serving in the army of the royal Spanish empire! You can´t just betray your king and join the enemy!"
Mendoza backed off a little, but quickly two of the Mexican soldiers appeared at the alcalde´s side to prevent him from slaughtering his former sergeant. "I am truly sorry, alcalde," Mendoza explained apologetically. "But it is true that I feel much more connected to my homeland Mexico than to Spain. I´ve never even been to Spain!"
Colonel Vieira gave him a nod of approval. "Exactly, sergeant. That´s why Mexico has declared its independence. And since you are the highest in rank in the Los Angeles garrison, and have declared your loyalty to Mexico, until further notice you will serve as temporary alcalde of this pueblo. Consider yourself sworn in."
Mendoza´s jaw dropped. "Me? Alcalde of Los Angeles?!"
Don Alejandro smiled, and slapped him on the back. "Well, it seems like you are alcalde again once more, sergeant!"
All of a sudden some of the people near him started cheering. "Long live alcalde Mendoza!! Long live alcalde Mendoza!!" No one could oversee the consequences of their new nationality. But everyone knew that sergeant Mendoza - even though he may not be the cleverest of men - had a good heart, and would lead the pueblo accordingly.
"No way! No way!" De Soto raged. "I am the alcalde of this pueblo! And you can not take that from me! My men, and the people of Los Angeles, they respect me!"
Colonel Vieira chuckled as he noticed more and more people cheering along for alcalde Mendoza. "You really think so, señor?"
"Lancers!" De Soto bellowed. "Get your rifles and drive these impostors out of town! And put that traitor Mendoza in irons before he escapes!"
Mendoza winced. There was some movement in the crowd; the lancers had been participating at the party, too, and consequently they were scattered all over the place.
Diego´s jaw tightened. This was going the wrong way. He looked for a way to stop the lancers from getting to the cuartel to get their rifles. But when he turned back to the crowd to assess the situation, all momentary movement had disappeared. Some of the lancers were lurking in the back. Others kept low in the middle of the crowd. And some people were grinning smugly, having tackled a lonesome obedient lancer running to get his gun.
Colonel Vieira grinned, too. "Well, that´s settled then. It seems most of your ´men´ have wisely decided to follow the sergeant´s example."
The people in the plaza laughed. They laughed at him, Ignacio De Soto! And they started cheering again for Mendoza, as to humiliate De Soto even more. But he was trapped, with a Mexican soldier on either side, and with all his own lancers having deserted him.
Sergeant Mendoza approached the colonel on his horse and asked: "Colonel, as alcalde I have the possibility of denouncing the bounty on a local criminal´s head and pardon him, haven´t I?"
Colonel Vieira nodded. "You have indeed, sergeant."
Mendoza´s face shone. He climbed up on the fountain and waved his arms for attention. He started a few "Señores y señoras, please!" But it wasn´t until the colonel gave a short whistle on his fingers that the cheering people quieted down enough for their new alcalde to make himself heard for his first speech.
Sergeant Mendoza cleared his throat. "Señores y señoras!" He swallowed at the sight of all those faces expectantly looking up to him. But he had something important to say, so he gathered his courage and continued: "As your alcalde, I hereby declare that our friend Zorro is granted a general pardon. And there is no more bounty on his head!"
Now the cheering was definitely deafening, and only Ignacio de Soto happened to take notice of an overjoyed former señorita Escalante jumping into Diego´s arms. And his furious reproof of Mendoza´s first act as alcalde was cut short abruptly at the sight: "It can´t be... No...!"
However, Victoria jumping at him nearly made Diego lose his balance. He felt like he was hovering over the side of a ravine, with his legs nearly giving way under him. Was this the end? Could it be true?! Or was he dreaming? A general pardon for Zorro?!
He noticed his father looking at him, his face showing a mixture of pride and relief. But sergeant Mendoza was waving for attention again, and when he finally got it, he asked colonel Vieira: "Colonel, if you would be so kind as to pass on Zorro´s pardon to the other pueblos when you are telling them about California becoming Mexican and stuff?"
The colonel nodded. "I certainly will, sergeant. From what I´ve heard about this Zorro-fellow, he should not be branded as a criminal. At least not according to Mexican standards." And he wrote down something at the bottom of the parchment with the declaration he had read out aloud before.
Mendoza beamed. "Good. And now that there is no more threat of being shot or hanged or something like that, will Zorro please come forward, so that we´ll finally know to whom we owe so much?"
Everybody in the plaza looked around expectantly. Where would their masked hero show up? All of Los Angeles was gathered here tonight on accord of the now nearly forgotten wedding-of-the-year, so it was more than likely that their hero was right here under their noses, disguised as himself.
Diego felt that time stood still. He noticed the pride with which Felipe looked at him, his faithful eyes begging him to come forward. He noticed his beaming father, telling him with a fierce nod that he should come and claim the respect and the gratitude he so thoroughly deserved. He noticed padre Benitez smiling at him from the back of the crowd. He felt Victoria´s warm, loving eyes upon him, urging him to show his real self and reveal his secret to everyone. And alarmingly enough, he was aware of De Soto staring at him, too, in a puzzled but threatening frown. Did he suspect...?
He shivered and bit his lip. And fixed his eyes on the ground. Could he? Was he really ready for this? His mind raced, his heart galloped through his chest. With sudden expectation, with disbelief, with fear... Living a secret double life had become so much a part of him; he wasn´t sure whether he was able to tear his life apart and share that secret with the whole town...
But as he noticed how eagerly the people were looking for their hero - the very people he had sworn to protect - he found he could not leave them in the dark. Not anymore. And he swallowed. Hard. And then he slowly started to walk from the back of the crowd towards the fountain in the center of the plaza. Victoria, Felipe, his father, they all beamed as they finally watched him come forward. At first, he had to gently push his way through the crowd, but then a path started to clear for him, as if he were crossing the Red Sea. He hardly dared to look in anybody´s face, but he felt their awe, and their respectful hush rang in his ears. A part of him still wanted to turn away and run. But he couldn´t. Not anymore. The people knew. It was over.
Mendoza, too, stepped down from the fountain in astonishment when he noticed just who was coming forward through the crowd. And when Diego finally stood in front of him, he swallowed hard and stammered: "D...D... Don D... Diego?! You?!"
Diego nodded. He couldn´t speak. ´This must be what life is like for Felipe,´ was the thought that suddenly crossed his mind. So much to say, and not being able to utter a single word...
"I should have known!" came a sudden grunt from De Soto, and everyone turned to him. "I had him in my clutches and he fooled me...! How could I have missed it?!"
No one took the bait to ridicule the alcalde, for at that moment Victoria showed up at Diego´s side. She had run off to the tavern as soon as Diego had started to move, expecting that the people would have an equally hard time to believe this as she had upon first hearing it. Now she put a large piece of black silk in his hand. "Show them. Like you showed me," she told him.
Diego looked at the black silk in his hand. It was indeed one of Zorro´s masks; probably the one he had given to her after their first kiss, years ago, in the De la Vega garden. And now... He heaved a tight sigh, and under the supervision of the entire pueblo he slowly tied the mask over his head.
Surprised gasps were heard everywhere. And Mendoza´s eyes popped wide. "Madre de Dios, it´s true! Don Diego... Who would have thought...?!"
Diego took a deep breath, and found he could speak again. "Yes, sergeant," he said quietly. "It is true. I am Zorro."
Victoria hugged him. And Don Alejandro shone with pride. "A threefold hurray for Diego!" he announced. But the people hurrayed quite a bit longer than just three times, and before he knew it they carried Diego around the plaza on their shoulders. The people of Los Angeles were jigging around, and Diego bit his lip to keep his emotions under control. It was over now, his past as a ´criminal´. He was free. Free to live his own life. Without the hurting, unjust disdain he had endured for the past seven years. No more masquerades. No more prize on his head. He was free now. Free. Finally free.
Don Alejandro put his arm around a suddenly lonely Victoria. "It is good, Victoria," he said lovingly. "It will take some adjusting from everyone, but Diego will finally be able to be the man that he is. And that is good. It´s over now."
Victoria nodded. "I´m happy for him. Though I have a feeling that he himself is unable to decide as yet whether he really is happy about it or not."
Don Alejandro smiled. "I think he will be. In time."
When the people finally lowered Diego to the ground again, he pulled off his mask and walked towards the alcalde.
"Don Diego," De Soto greeted him with a hint of appreciation. "I must admit that you´ve outsmarted me all those years. Congratulations."
Diego nodded in quiet acceptance of his praise. "I only hope that somehow you have learned something during your time here, Ignacio. Leading people means to serve them. I hope you will get the opportunity elsewhere to try that in practice. I expect that you will make a more successfull alcalde that way." He offered his hand, and they shook it as two adversaries who had finally made their peace.
"Farewell, Ignacio," Diego said quietly.
"And all the best to you, Diego."
"Thank you."
They gave one another one last look. Then the former alcalde of Los Angeles turned to go and gather his belongings, followed by two of the Mexican soldiers to make sure he would only take what was rightfully his.
Diego watched him go. But when he turned around, he found Mendoza standing behind him.
"Don Diego," the sergeant stuttered clumsily, "I want to thank you for all those times you saved my life. From the gallows, from the fire... How can I ever repay you?"
Diego smiled. "You have already repaid me, sergeant. You´ve practically saved my life by giving me that general pardon. And of course by being my friend."
Mendoza swallowed. "Am I still your friend?"
"Of course you are! Since Zorro and I are one and the same, I consider Zorro´s friends to be my friends, too."
Mendoza frowned. "But you know, Zor... eh, Don Diego, now that I am the temporary alcalde, I would especially like for Zorro to remain my friend."
Diego gave him a puzzled look. "Why is that?"
The sergeant cleared his throat. "Well, you are so clever in catching bandits and bringing them to justice. You are so much better at it than the lancers; you outsmart them all! So I was wondering if you... if Zorro would still be willing to help out the garrison in catching the occasional bandits."
Diego put his arm around the sergeant´s shoulders. "Sergeant, why don´t you instead give your lancers a little extra training? I´m sure they are as able as any soldier to learn how to track down and capture a gang of armed bandits. I would be happy to help you train them, if you like."
Mendoza sighed. "They might need a lot of training, Don Diego! And what do I do in the meantime?"
Diego patted his shoulder reassuringly. "In the meantime, sergeant, I will help you to catch that occasional bandit. But I do hope that you will govern this pueblo wisely, so that I don´t have to come out to defend the people against you instead."
Mendoza shook his head vigorously. "Oh no, Don Diego, you can count on me! I´ll be the best alcalde the people of Los Angeles have ever had! Although..." He sighed. "I don´t know much about this governing stuff. Couldn´t you help me a little with that, too?"
"I don´t think so, sergeant." Diego chuckled and shook his head. "I´ve got a lovely wife now to look after, and a child on the way, too. I prefer to devote myself to those two for now. But why don´t you ask my father? He made a pretty good alcalde those few days, remember? And if I am not very much mistaken about him, I think he would love to help you!"