My thanks to PamZ. Her transcripts contribute significantly to the creation of this story.
Chapter 25
Don Alejandro stormed into the alcalde's office, furious. His son was missing. Felipe was nowhere to be found, and his daughter-in-law had been arrested. Alejandro found the office empty and walked towards the cell block. Empty! Where was Victoria? Where was Ramon himself? He walked back outside and saw a lancer approaching. "Where is Doña Victoria?" he shouted in a commanding tone.
The lancer responded immediately, startled by the commanding tone of the don. "In the tavern," the man stammered, pointing at the building.
.
Victoria walked through the kitchen, gathering supplies to make porridge. She held the baby girl on her arm while scolding Mendoza. "A prison is no place for a baby," Victoria said. She went to a set of shelves and took a bowl.
Mendoza looked around, aware of the precarious situation he was in. "But doña Victoria...
She took another bowl from the shelf and turned to face Mendoza. "The alcalde wants this baby to be happy, right?"
"Si," the sergeant admitted reluctantly, knowing that what was happening now was not what the alcalde had intended. "But if he finds out..."
"Well, if she's hungry, she can't be happy, and here I have food for her," Victoria explained her logic as she filled a bowl with milk.
Mendoza pleaded, "We need to go back to the prison. I tried to feed her. She won't take it."
Victoria cradled the baby in her arms and looked affectionately at the little one. "Ah, sergeant, that was food for a strong soldier. She's just a delicate baby. Besides, we're under your command. We're still your prisoners.
Mendoza reluctantly agreed. Victoria had indeed promised to follow his orders. Otherwise, he would never have allowed them to leave the cuartel. But it didn't feel that way. He mumbled obediently, "That's true."
Victoria opened a cupboard. "Good, then we agree on that. Now, do something about that noise." She pointed to the opening with curtains leading to the main room, where loud chatter could be heard.
"Yes, doña Victoria," Mendoza responds. He walks over to the curtains and opens them. In an authoritative tone, he shouts, "Silence!"
Suddenly, the chatter subsides, and everyone turns their attention to the sergeant standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining area. He looks toward Victoria, seeking her approval, and she gazes back at him in astonishment, making Mendoza feel uneasy. The sergeant has managed to calm the crowd, but it's clear that Victoria didn't expect him to be capable of doing so.
To reinforce his words, Mendoza takes a seat on a stool in the middle of the room. He crosses his arms and tries his best to exude authority. Which is no easy challenge considering he's only wearing trousers and an undershirt. His attempts to maintain order in the cuartel have not been particularly successful. The baby girl, Natasha, has spit on him twice. All his uniforms got stained, and in the absence of anything else, he had to use a shirt as a diaper.
Mendoza hears creaking footsteps and angrily looks up to see who dares to make any noise. The man immediately falls silent. Then, a man at the bar sneezes, and Mendoza shoots him a dirty look. The man's friend puts a finger to his lips.
Someone in the tavern has a guitar. The man looks at Mendoza, lifts the guitar, and gestures that he could play a tune for the little one. Mendoza nods approvingly, but the man plays too loudly. Mendoza motions for him to play more softly, and the man complies.
Meanwhile, Victoria has managed to calm the crying baby in the kitchen. She smiles as she hears how quiet it is on the other side of the curtain. The only sounds Victoria hears are the gentle notes of a guitar playing a classical lullaby.
Victoria leaves the kitchen and sees that the sergeant has everything under control. The sleeping bundle in her arms contentedly suckles on her fist. "Thank you, Sergeant," Victoria says.
The sergeant sits up proudly. His chest swells, and he smiles with satisfaction.
Then, a door slams shut somewhere, startling the baby awake, and she immediately begins crying again.
"Silence-ooo!" Mendoza angrily jumps to his feet, ready to confront the person disturbing the peace. But then he sees the alcalde entering the tavern, followed by two lancers.
Ramon's suspicions were confirmed. The foolish sergeant had indeed given the baby to Victoria de la Vega against his orders. He even released her and is now wasting his precious time in the tavern. "And what do you think you're doing, señora?"
Above, a familiar but oh-so-annoying voice that Ramon would rather not hear echoes. "Returning the child to her parents," says Zorro, casually sitting on the railing, crafting a piece of wood.
Of course, that meddling interloper has to interfere to thwart him. Luckily, nobody knows that the child's parents have offered a reward for her safe return, and the thousand pesos are already in his hands. Ramon points at the masked nuisance and shouts, "Lancers!"
Two lancers aim their muskets at Zorro. At the same time, several men emerge from the guest rooms, pointing their pistols at Ramon and his men.
"Don't see this as a defeat, alcalde. Try to see it as... justice," says Zorro, a smile spreading across his face as he looks at Ramon.
With his men outnumbered and to prevent a bloodbath that could jeopardize the gains he had made today, Ramon had only one option. "Drop your weapons," he said.
The lancers lowered their weapons, and Ramon prepared to leave the tavern.
"Oh, before I forget... the ransom, please," says Zorro, his gaze fixed on Ramon.
Ramon looks up at Zorro, then at the bag in his hand, and finally places it on the bar. How on earth had he known? With restrained anger, Ramon snarls at Zorro, "I look forward to the day I see you hang!"
"I'll try not to take that personally," Zorro calmly replied.
Where did that man get the audacity to casually insult him like that? Ramon walks towards the door as Zorro brushes wood shavings off his leg, accidentally causing some of them to fall onto Ramon's head and shoulders. Ramon stops, looks at the shavings on his coat, grimaces, and then continues on his way out, followed by the remaining lancers. The Russians put away their pistols. Victoria looks at Zorro he gives her a friendly nod to express his gratitude for her help. She smiles back at him before he moves on.
Now that Ramon has slunk away with his tail between his legs, Victoria approaches the only woman in the group. She hands her the baby. The woman smiles and joyfully kisses her child. An older man steps beside Victoria.
"Natasja's parents want to thank you for caring for their daughter."
"You're welcome. She's truly adorable. May I kiss her goodbye?" Victoria asks. The man repeats the question in Russian. The woman nods, bringing the baby closer to Victoria so she can kiss her.
Zorro descends the stairs and joins the group. Mendoza hesitates, looking at Zorro. "Zorro, do you think I could say goodbye too?"
"Of course, Sergeant," Zorro replied.
Mendoza walked over to the mother and the child, giving his shirt to another man. "For her," he said. "It will make a nice nightgown."
The mother holds the baby out to Mendoza.
"Do you mean I can kiss her too?" Mendoza asks. The mother nods, and Mendoza leans forward to kiss the baby on her cheek. "Vaya con Dios, muchachita," he says.
The woman takes her baby's hand, waves to the people around her, and says, "Pachieba."
The older man speaking Spanish fluently translated what the woman had just said. "Thank you."
As the Russians are about to leave, Zorro calls out, "Oh, wait a moment!"
They stopped and turned around.
"I almost forgot," Zorro said as he stepped forward, holding up the wooden rattle he had made while sitting on the railing. "Farewell, little bandit." He placed the toy in the baby's hand and then shook hands with the older man. Afterwards, the Russians continued their way out of the tavern.
.
As Ramon walked across the plaza, he noticed don Alejandro spotting him from the other side of the plaza. The don was heading towards the tavern.
"Alcalde!" Don Alejandro shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Ramon. "This time, you have gone too far! How dare you arrest Victoria? On what grounds?! And where is she?! If I find out you've mistreated her, I'll..."
A group of people emerged from the tavern, with a woman cradling a baby in her arms and Mendoza following closely behind.
Don Alejandro turned his attention to the sergeant, knowing that the good man was more susceptible to threats. "Mendoza, where is Victoria?! I demand an answer, and I want it now!"
Mendoza stepped aside and pointed towards Victoria, who had been partially concealed by the group of Russians. "Here she is."
Don Alejandro fell silent, stunned by disbelief.
"Well, well, look who we have here," Ramon grinned smugly. "Let's see. Threatening an official. Inciting revolution. Spreading lies. Don Alejandro, these offences carry severe penalties."
Victoria leapt off the veranda and shouted, "Leave him alone!"
Ramon turned his attention to Victoria. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut! Escaping from prison is usually met with the death penalty."
"Alcalde!"
Everyone looked up simultaneously, squinting their eyes to catch a glimpse of Zorro. He was standing on a rooftop.
Zorro's voice echoed across the plaza. "Let me not have to remind you of the fact that doña Victoria selflessly took care of a child. While you, driven by greed, attempted to exploit her parents, sick with worry for wellfare of their daughter."
"Zorro, if I ever catch you!" Ramon waved his clenched fist in Zorro's direction.
"Then I hope, by that time, I will have forgotten where you left the keys to the pillory," Zorro replied. He saluted the cheering crowd and disappeared from sight.
.
Diego spotted Victoria sitting on a bench in the garden. His father had been right when he scolded him and said it was his duty as a husband to get his wife out of prison, not Zorro's. Yes, he was Zorro. But Victoria and his father didn't know that. He had disappointed her by not being there when she needed him. And yet, she didn't seem angry with him. Diego thought she seemed rather downcast. Victoria had every reason to be angry with him.
"Ahem."
Victoria looked up, a wry smile appearing on her lips. "Diego," she said.
He approached, and Victoria shifted slightly to make room for him to sit. However, Diego chose to remain standing.
"I apologize."
"For what reason?"
"I'm sorry for not being there for you today."
Victoria directed her attention to something near her feet. "It all ended good, so no harm done. You didn't even know the alcalde had arrested me." She looked up at him again. "Will you sit with me?"
Now that she had asked so clearly, he couldn't refuse. Diego sat next to Victoria, their hips touching.
"Natasha was so sweet. I am glad that she is back with her parents."
"Yes, everything turned out well. I'll thank Zorro thoroughly when I see him. He did what I should have done."
"Nonsense," Victoria waved off his words. "If the alcalde hadn't tried to take advantage of the situation, nothing would have happened. Did you know those poor people had offered a reward of a thousand pesos for that little girl? Guess whose pockets that money almost disappeared into. Those people were terribly worried. And for what? Because our alcalde only thinks about money, as usual."
Victoria chuckled softly.
"Natasja made it clear, by the way, that she didn't like beans. She threw up on Mendoza three times, which is why he was wearing only his underwear at the tavern.
"I thought it was because Mendoza followed your orders while you were taking care of the girl."
"That, too. Don't tell Mendoza. I told him I was under his command. I'll make sure he gets an extra portion of tamales tomorrow."
An uncomfortable silence fell. It seemed as if Victoria wanted to say something but thought better of it. Then she cleared her throat and said, "He really tried to do a good job taking care of her."
They sat together for a while and listened to the sounds of the night.
Diego cherished these moments in her company and wished he didn't have to get up. It felt like his heart got torn apart as he said, "I should go to my room. I have a book I'd like to finish reading."
Victoria felt a pang in her heart. They had sat outside so peacefully, and she wished it could last longer. Hopefully, she asked, "Diego, please stay a little longer?"
Diego kissed her cheek, stood up, and said, "I'm tired. Maybe another time."
.
Maybe another time, Diego thought as he closed his eyes. The image of Victoria's disappointed face appeared in his mind again. He intensely longed to say "yes" and sit on that bench with her forever, holding her in his arms. But he knew all too well that if he had stayed longer, he wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to kiss her. And once he kissed her, he would never want to let her go. The pain in his heart was unbearable every time he left her alone, but the nights were the worst.
Perhaps it was better to stay away altogether. The attraction Victoria had for him was only growing stronger. And each time they made love, it became harder to keep Zorro and Diego separated. He yearned to spend every night, every moment with her.
But the secret of Zorro made that impossible. Victoria would soon notice that he often wasn't at home at night and would start asking questions. He would have preferred not to have any secrets from her. However, her safety was paramount. Yet, it gnawed at him. In a good marriage, there should be no secrets between husband and wife. He loved her more than life itself. And she claimed to love him too. In his naivete, he had thought that love alone would be enough for a happy marriage. Convinced that Diego could be married and remain Zorro at the same time. But he had been completely wrong.
Diego couldn't live without Victoria. The people in Los Angeles couldn't live without Zorro either. He couldn't stand by and just watch injustice prevail and gain more control over everything and everyone. Zorro was their only hope for improvement. Diego was torn between his sense of duty and what his heart told him.
.
Tears welled in Victoria's eyes as she clasped her interlocked fingers over her still-flat belly. Inside her, Diego and her child were growing. She wondered when her belly would first show a bump. She hoped it would be months away. Victoria longed to tell Diego the news. Just now, she had been tempted to do so, hoping he would stay a few minutes longer. The reason why she hadn't told him yet held her back. Soon enough, he would find out. Then there would be no reason for him to visit her bedroom twice a week. Victoria knew living without those intimate moments they shared during those rare evenings would be painful. Even though those moments were brief and infrequent, she cherished their closeness. If Diego wanted to lie beside her every night, she wouldn't hesitate to share the joyous news of her pregnancy with him.
.
.
Next, the remaining parts of the episodes,'The Legend Begins' S1E8-11.
The story is nearing its end. I hope you enjoy reading this altered version. And when you do, I enjoy hearing it.