Diego threw her down near the table as more rocks began to fall.

"Victoria, under the table!"

"The rocks, Diego…"

"Move!" There was no time, he gave her another little shove. She moved.

He shoved her gently until she was completely under the table. He scrambled under as well, hoping that the table would offer some protection. He covered her with his body, and braced himself for the inevitable.

She felt warm and tense in his arms, but alive. She stared in his eyes, and he brushed a wayward curl from her face.

"You and I have to talk," Victoria said sternly, and he nodded.

"Do we start now?" Diego said with a trace of humour in his voice. Rocks thundered around them, and he tried to tuck his feet further under the table. "Can I just say, in my defence, that you are very beautiful today? It's been an adventure….and…"

She put a finger on his lips, and sighed. "Are we going to die?" He stopped her question with another kiss, and she relaxed under him.

He paused for a breath, and he smiled at the way her eyes were still closed. "If we are, let's make the most of it," he murmured. He kissed her again, and she reached around his neck pulling him closer against her.

The rumbling stopped eventually, and Diego had to investigate the damage to the cave around them.

He crawled out, and glanced around. The light was dim, and the air was a little stuffy already. He frowned, but when he glanced back at Victoria he smiled.

"Are we going to be alright?" Victoria asked softly. "Try to tell the truth, Diego. It's hard for you sometimes…"

He grimaced a little. "I deserved that one. Obviously we need to get out of here."

"How do we do that?"

He glanced around at the rocks and rubble that surrounded them. "Did you ever see any ammunition? Any gunpowder in here?"

"Surely that's dangerous?"

"What?" He asked, innocently.

"I had brothers, Diego. We've been friends most of our lives. I suppose the childhood Diego is the most authentic one? The one that built forts and played pirates?"

He shrugged. "I could blow an opening safely enough. Zorro is quite an expert on explosives."

"But is Diego?"

"I think he may have studied something like that….at University."

"You have lied for a very long time, Diego."

"Not really lied….more like deceived….there is a difference…."

"Is there? I didn't realise dishonesty could be characterised into different sections."

"We are wasting our air. Save the argument for later."

"I have the right to be angry, Diego."

"Yes, yes." Diego began to pace. The side entrance was completely blocked off, the main entrance was completely blocked off….the side tunnels up ahead? Where exactly did they lead? Were they blocked as well?

"Diego, you are not listening to me," Victoria growled, impatiently.

"What? No," he murmured. "I am actually trying to get us out of here before we suffocate."

She gasped at his abruptness, and he grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the tunnels.

"I am not going in there. It's pitch dark, and I am angry with you…"

"If I remember correctly, there is a small side passage a little this way…" He tugged her with him, as she tried to stop and complain again. "Stop it, Victoria. You could at least try to help."

"The light is actually dimming more this way, Diego. How are we going to find our way?" She glanced at him in the gloom, and saw the way he was clenching his jaw. "Really….I want to know. We aren't all as smart as you are. Obviously."

He put his hand over hers, and placed it on the wall. "Feel your way, like so."

Victoria savoured the strange feeling of Diego's hand over hers, and her eyes softened, and her hand relaxed. "I love you, Diego…I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry as well, Victoria. I never wanted to hurt you. I never even wanted to hide from you. Zorro meant every one of those promises he made to you."

"Where is your cave?"

"The cave?"

"Where you treated my ankle – that cave," she murmured. "Have you got more than one?"

He smiled. She could see his teeth in the dark.

"Oh, that cave…" He sighed. "You want me to share all my secrets? Can't I have even one?"

"Not even one, senor."

"The cave is in the library. That day was so confusing, I almost went mad."

"Why?"

"Zorro walks in and out of the cave all the time, switching costumes as he goes. With you in there, you almost saw Diego, and my father almost came face to face with Zorro pilfering from my mother's belongings. I don't think he would have taken kindly to that sort of treatment."

Victoria laughed a little.

"I love the way you laugh, senorita."

"You've never told me."

"There's never time."

"How much time do we have before we suffocate?"

The question drew him back to reality. He glanced around them. "I'm not even sure if that's an issue."

"Could it be?"

"Yes, it could be. The space is still quite open, so there is quite a bit of air in here anyway. We could be sealed in and eventually we could run out of air."

"These tunnels could lead us outside the cave system? Out into the sunlight again?"

"It's probably night time by now," Diego said.

"Must you be so precise, Diego?"

"Yes."

He drew her into his arms, and walked with her, feeling the wall with his hand as they went. Eventually it got too dark for them to see much in front of them at all, but he kept his arm around her and his hand on the wall. He kept up the walking as if he could see as clear as day.

"You are so brave, Diego. You always have been…"

"I made an effort not to be," Diego said. She could hear the disappointment in his voice. "What gave my courage away?"

"You were the only caballero that challenged Thackeray that day. You defend the freedom of the press ardently. Sometimes you even get in between me and guns," Victoria said thoughtfully. "Some of those men looked ready to shoot as well."

"Well, I dislike my friends being shot before my eyes. Speaking to trigger happy men tends to disorient them a lot. They are too used to others firing first."

She laughed again. "Did you really hurt your ankle that day?"

"What do you think?"

"You are superb actor," she responded gently. "The finest swordsman that ever lived, playing the fool, and succeeding in not getting killed."

"Thackeray was a boastful lout who was too big for his breeches."

"Indeed? Why did you challenge him?"

"You should know why," he murmured. His voice had gotten thoughtful and she concentrated hard.

"He was threatening to hurt me?"

Diego drew in his breath, and sighed. "I was angry all week because of that man. When he had the gall to threaten you under my very nose….I had to do something."

"Zorro could have."

"Zorro doesn't fight when he's angry."

"It's a rule?"

"Yes. It's a very good rule."

Victoria kept her eyes peering ahead, hoping for a glimmer, just the faintest sign of light. The air was stuffy but there was plenty for now. Diego was warm against her and she felt completely safe and protected. She just had to remember that she was angry with him, and try to resist more kissing. He seemed to resort to that when he had run out of sensible argument. While it was comforting, it did nothing for the conversation.