Diego rode home as fast as he could; he wanted only to put distance between himself and Los Angeles. He had outwitted his captors with a simple ruse and a false cave as Zorro's hideout, leading them into the shadowy recesses as he worked his hands free. After that it was a simple matter to overpower them- he was in no mood to be gentle to them as they fought back, and the fact that they had swords did not deter him in the least. He returned them to Sergeant Mendoza less than an hour before Victoria's wedding, and he knew he could not be there, or even anywhere close. He would not be able to bear the pain.

He found his father still in his quarters at the hacienda, putting the finishing touches on his cravat.

"Ah, Diego!" he exclaimed in relief and irritation as he glanced at his son in the mirror. "Where have you been...?" he saw blood on his son's shirt and whirled around to face him. "What happened to you?"

"I have to go, father," Diego said, his expression unfathomable. "Tell Victoria I can't play for the wedding. Someone else will, I am sure."

"Diego!" Alejandro barked, but his son ignored him as he hurried out the door. "Go where? What happened? Are you hurt? Come back here!"

Diego did not reply.

Irritated, the elder don grabbed his jacket and hurriedly pulled it on, muttering under his breath about Diego's exasperating moodiness and his irrational behavior. Then with a sigh he went after his son to give him a piece of his mind and order him to play for Victoria's wedding. But by the time Alejandro went in search of him, his son had disappeared.

Angry, the elder De la Vega sent Felipe to look for Diego, anxious not to be late for the ceremony. By the time he had to leave, however, the youth could only report that Diego was nowhere to be found. When he saw Alejandro's displeasure, he quickly added that the younger don was probably not far, because his horse had been returned to the stables. What he did not say was that Toronado was gone.

"Send him in to town when you see him," Alejandro snapped. "I don't care if he is dressed for the wedding or not. I want to see him at once!"

Felipe nodded in acquiescence, but he knew Diego would not be back in time for the wedding. He had seen the caballero for a moment before he left, but Diego said nothing to him, storming into Zorro's cave and saddling the great black horse. Felipe had begged for time to talk, but Diego shook his head and left. Now Felipe was more than a little afraid Diego was gone for good. After all, the younger De la Vega had never publicly ridden Zorro's horse before.

Already far away, Diego de la Vega rode hard. He rode long into the night, giving Toronado his head and letting the horse outride the wind. He did not care where he ended up, wishing only to be far, far away. It was easier not to think while he rode his stallion- Toronado was a considerable mount and so required more concentration, especially as fast as he was galloping. Perhaps unconsciously, he hoped to outrun his grief and his pain, but of course he could not.

Finally, Diego eased the proud animal to a walk and eventually dismounted. They were well into the hills and Los Angeles had long since disappeared behind them. Before he could stop for the night, Diego had to make sure Toronado was completely cooled down, so he led him for a mile before letting the horse drink and find a place to graze.

The young caballero did not sleep that night, but he laid on the top of a hill and watched the stars and the moon slowly rotate over him. He saw a number of meteors streak across the sky, and for some time he contemplated the universe and his life. The conclusions he came to did not help take away the pain in his heart or the emptiness of his soul.

It was easy to be pessimistic. He was nothing in the vastness of God's creation. A verse from the Bible came to him: "For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; And its place acknowledges it no longer."

Diego de la Vega was only one man. No matter what he did, when he died, it would be as if he never existed. The world would go on exactly as before; neither Zorro nor Diego would make a difference in the long run. There would be day and night, summer and winter, life and death, government and taxes, justice and injustice. He was nothing, and what he did was nothing. It simply did not matter.

For one fleeting moment he even considered not going back, never again riding as Zorro, just riding away and living or dying as providence dictated, but he knew before he even finished the thought that it was not possible. Even though his one life was nothing to the universe, at the moment at least he was bound to serve Los Angeles as Zorro. The alcalde may be dead, but another one would come- good or bad, he could not know. He could not quit just yet.

Though his mission was the same, his goal was different. He no longer had a personal reason to fight so diligently- after all, his father rarely got into serious trouble with the alcalde. He would still protect the weak and poor, but there was no end for him to strive for. Zorro was the only thing he had left; he had no reason to try to end the masked man's existence.

He would go on, all right; Victoria had been his dream, and though his dream was shattered, he was still very much alive. Since he was still alive, he had to continue his dual existence, as Diego de la Vega, intellectual, perhaps, but useless, and as Zorro, the strong, brave hero of Los Angeles. Like it or not, he could not change what he had to do.

Diego's thoughts returned to Victoria. Despite the heartbreak and the pain, he could not blame her for her decision to accept Ramon's proposal. He loved her too much to be angry with her- especially when her decision was based on all the same things that had troubled him. He had certainly hoped it would never have come to this, but he realized that he had asked too much of her to wait so long. It was his fault. He could blame no one but himself.

Then, too, came the question of whether Victoria would even have accepted him and given him her love once she found out who wore the mask of Zorro. That question had tormented him from the very start, but now he did not have to worry about the answer. She would not care any longer - she may never even hear the news, away in San Luis Obispo with her husband.

Dawn came finally, bringing with it the first day of the rest of his life. There was no anticipation, no joy, not even the simple hope of a happy future. He had lost Victoria. He had lost everything he had ever wanted.

He had lost her... She was only trying to be considerate, he was sure, when she tried to give him his ring back, but the thought was inconceivable to him. There was no one else. There never had been, there never would be again. So finally his father would be right. His son would never get married.

For some time he continued to lay on his back, watching the sky go from black to pink to orange to blue, then finally he got up and retrieved Toronado, who was grazing not far away.

"Come on, old boy," he murmured quietly. "I suppose we should go home."

The horse nickered softly and sniffed him, nosing his hand for a good scratch. Diego laughed mirthlessly. "It is a lot easier for you, isn't it? Eat, run, sleep... one day at a time. You let me ride, I take care of you... one day at a time. That's as far as it goes. You don't worry about tomorrow. What comes, comes, si? Well, amigo, that is how it will be for me, too. You and I... we will still ride, but as for the future..." He sighed tiredly. There was no answer.