Una Muy Feliz Navidad by JuliaBC
Diego rushed through the passage until he reached the part of the tunnel beneath the stables, and then he waited. Sometimes you could hear conversations from there, sometimes the horses were too loud. Thankfully, the horses were quieter now and Diego was able to hear the conversation.
"I plan to take Senorita Leonar for a Christmas walk," Arrellanos was saying. "I think she will welcome that, since she's been cooped up with her father all day. Madre di dios, I'd hate that. Anyway, Diego has already gone to bed, I think but I'll make sure of it before I leave. You will have a fifteen minute window during which you can sneak into the sala. I have already taken care of his guard. You know the rest."
"Si, Capitan. I wish to thank you for this opportunity," the other man said. "You will be a great man, if you let us help you."
"I am already a great man," Arrellanos drawled. "With your help, I will simply be a powerful one. Now get out and wait in the front until you see me leave with the senorita."
Diego turned to see that Bernardo had joined him. He raised an eyebrow. "You heard?"
Bernardo nodded.
"Good. Now it is Zorro's turn, not to hear but to act!"
Moments later, as Diego put on his cape, he was surprised when the secret door from his room opened and Alejandro came in. "I didn't expect Zorro to ride tonight," he scowled. "Did you forget your head injury?"
"I can't not go," Diego said. "Arrellanos' rebatos are coming tonight, to kill the governor."
"Again? Has he not given that up yet? And on Christmas Eve!" Alejandro's tone was full of disgust. "What a man," he muttered.
"I know," Diego said. "But that is not the only reason I worry. He sent Garcia and Reyes out to fetch some holly."
"Is he trying to kill them? The only place to find—" Alejandro's face set. "I will go after them," he sighed.
"Thank you, father," Diego said, truly relieved. "I didn't know how I was going to do both. Please, hurry. They've already left."
His father nodded. "I will be like the wind. Perhaps I could ride Phantom?"
"Uh, no, father," Diego said. "I don't think enough time has passed and Garcia knows that horse."
"It was worth a try," Alejandro said. "I hope we both come back here safe and sound."
"So do I, father," Diego said, putting his sword on. "Will you give me your blessing?"
Touched, Alejandro took a moment to respond. "Si, I give it."
Alejandro flew across the muddy road, mounted on Princessa, now the de la Vegas third fastest horse. He chuckled when he realized that if they entered their other two, she'd never have a chance.
"But you have been trained well," Alejandro murmured, leaning over the horse low to speak in her ear. "Manuel is my best trainer."
Princessa neighed, as if in response.
Alejandro nodded in approval, and urged her on even faster.
Back at the hacienda, Bernardo was keeping a secret watch on the patio. He was hidden so well that when Zorro poked his head from Diego's bedroom, the man was nowhere in sight. Zorro shrugged, and assumed that the man must be there, he just couldn't see him.
He heard voices downstairs, and momentarily saw Arrellanos with Leonar on his arm.
"I'd like a shawl, or something," Leonar was saying. "I do think it would be nice to walk a way on Nochebuena, but it's a bit chilly right now, not to mention wet."
"There is no time for that," Arrellanos said. "There is a star you must see before she is covered by clouds."
"She?" Leonar asked, amusement in her voice. "I did not know stars were female."
"To me, they are," Arrellanos said. "You know, if I could name the star, she'd be called Leonar."
"Thank you for the compliment," Leonar said. "Perhaps we should hurry to see it."
"Gracias," Arrellanos returned.
Upstairs, Zorro considered the true fondness in Leonar's voice as she'd spoken to him. Though she recognized his faults, even more than Diego had at first, it was obvious she still held some affection for the man.
He remembered her saying that he was very close to her family in Monterey, and hoped that was all there was to it before he caught himself.
Downstairs, a potted plant waved hello. Zorro waved back without thinking, then started when he realized it was Bernardo.
"I must be going crazy to wave without knowing what it was," he muttered to himself, and flew down the stairs, cape streaming behind him.
"The man should be coming soon," he whispered in the plant's ear. "You are ready?"
The plant nodded emphatically. "Good," Zorro said. "I will be in the sala, as we agreed."
He ran into the sala, passing the governor as he lay on the makeshift bed in the middle of the room, fast asleep.
Zorro noted that the music box was not playing, and realized that Leonar's singing must have done the trick.
She is a good daughter, he thought, his chest tightening at other titles she could be.
He ran to the piano and ducked behind it. He knew exactly how he planned to make his entrance...
Alejandro finally reached the mountain pass, and looked up. "Santos! I cannot imagine Garcia making his way up there safely!"
Princessa neighed uneasily, and Alejandro noted the two horses already tied at the post. "But he is here." He said, and dismounted.
"I am sorry to leave you in this place," Alejandro said, carefully tying her to the post. "I will be back as soon as I can, and you can go home and eat your Christmas oats."
Princessa's neigh was ever sadder. Alejandro patted her, stroking her mane to give him confidence. "I will come back, Princessa," he promised, and turned to go up the mountain.
From his position behind the piano, Zorro could see perfectly though the sala window and immediately knew when the rebatos entered.
They crept past stealthily, three men. One was told to wait at the sala door, as Zorro had expected, and he felt fully confident in his plant. He would take care of him!
The other two walked into the sala, pausing at the top of the stairs. "He is right there, the lazy dog," one muttered. "Why should he be our governor?"
"We know why we are here," the other snapped. "Now stop talking and slit his throat."
Zorro rolled his eyes, and rose up from behind the piano to hop on top of the instrument. "Please, senors," he said. "If you make one move towards him, it will be your throats getting slit."
Out on the patio came a sound a flower pot crashing. The two rebatos looked to the door in surprise, and saw their compadre lying on the ground, dirt and flowers crowning his head.
"We are still two," they seemed to agree, and leapt at Zorro.
He had to admit he admired their confidence, but had a feeling they wouldn't have been so brash if they'd known who they were dealing with.
The fight was fierce at first, what with Zorro on the piano and them below. He had to work hard to keep his legs safe, until he calculated and jumped from the piano over their heads, conveniently landing between them and the governor's bed.
"You should have taken the chance when you could have," he said. "Now you are definitely too late."
With a grunt, he threw himself at one, knocking him down, while keeping his foot out to trip the other. They both fell heavily, with grunts as the breath was knocked out of them. Sparing no pity, Zorro used his sword hilt to bash their heads.
More groans, and he was assured of their being positively out.
The plant walked in, this time dressed as Bernardo.
"Now it is time to continue on to the next part," he said. "Come on."
Alejandro made his way up the mountain, coming ever closer to the treacherous pass, and was relieved when he finally heard voices echoing back to him.
"You are my subordinate," Garcia was explaining. "It is your duty to go first."
"You are my leader," Reyes protested. "I cannot go where your feet have not already trod."
Alejandro had a feeling this vein of conversation had been going on for quite some time now, and thanked the santos that both men were so inclined to delegation.
"Neither of you will go," he said, as they finally came into sight.
"Don Alejandro!" Garcia gasped, and Reyes took his partner's surprise as an opportunity to jump behind him. "Why, what are you doing here?"
"I came to fetch you back," Alejandro said. "As it turns out, the governor is allergic to holly."
"That is terrible," Garcia said.
"But good for us," Reyes said, coming out from behind him. "Muchos gracias for telling us, Don Alejandro."
"But what..." Garcia fidgeted with his hat, uncomfortable. "I do not wish to seem impertinent, Don Alejandro, but Capitan Arrellanos ordered us to do this. I feel a bit uneasy about not fulfilling his word. He is my superior. We should not take a step off this mountain without a direct order."
"I will take care of Capitan Arrellanos," Alejandro said. "Now hurry up and get out of here!"
Reyes tried to run to Alejandro, but Garcia snagged him at the last possible moment. "Not so fast, corporal. What about not treading where my feet have not?"
"But sergeant, we walked up this way," Reyes tried to explain.
"Oh," Garcia said, confused for a bit and Reyes made his escape. He passed Alejandro in a blur, and Alejandro tilted his head at him.
Garcia was still torn.
"Come along, Sergeant, your subordinate has gone. Surely it is your duty to watch after him."
"But Don Alejandro, I do not trust the Capitan to not, uh, slit my throat."
"I will take care of the Capitan," Alejandro said, and, thankfully, that was that.
Garcia came down the path slowly, and hesitantly put out his hand to Alejandro when he reached him.
"Muchos gracias, Don Alejandro. I know many less mighty men who would not have done this for soldiers. I think you have just saved our lives."
Alejandro took the sergeant's hand and shook it. "Now come on. We have to get back before Navidad, si?"
As Arrellanos strolled back to the house, Leonar on his arm, his mind was actually elsewhere, to the scene that hopefully awaited them inside the sala.
He'd planned the whole thing, and he was quite proud of himself. Garcia and Reyes were sure to die when they went to the mountain pass, and he could say that they were watching the governor when he left with Leonar but were gone by the time he'd returned.
"How was I to know they could not obey orders?"
When they reached the sala, Leonar would scream and want to weep over her father's body. He'd let her, but then pull her up into his embrace.
"I never would have gone, my darling, if I thought this could happen. I will never forgive myself."
The next day, when the arrangements for the funeral were finalized, he would reluctantly bring up the subject of who succeeded him.
"I hate to bring this up, but in such tumultuous times, we need a leader! I was next in line, since I was his aide. I will make the sacrifice and take the position. No, Leonar, you mustn't cry. This is something your father would have wanted, and, darling, the same thing will not happen to me! Not only that, but I vow to track down the men who did it!"
Arrellanos smiled to himself. He'd picked his words carefully earlier that day, even writing them down so he could be sure to memorize them and say them exactly right, so as to best show off his prowess and humility; his devotion to Leonar and her dead father.
As he neared the hacienda, keeping Leonar's hand that was on his arm tucked close, he heard a shriek, and moments later an odd trio of men burst from the gate.
Their clothes were in shreds, there was paint completely covering them. Leonar leaped back in revulsion, and Arrellanos stood stock still, trying to figure out what they were.
Suddenly, a figure appeared, leaping onto the wall after them.
Dressed in black, cape flowing behind him, Senor Zorro had never looked more intimidating. Arrellanos' hand moved to his sword automatically, then he too jumped back when the Fox jumped from the wall, looking as though he'd been released from heaven as an avenging angel.
"Do not return," he bade the men, whose horses were gone and now they ran back to Los Angeles, moaning.
Zorro turned to see his audience, for the first time, and Arrellanos' clenched his fist when the Fox's smile appeared.
"I was just doing my duty," he said, saluting Leonar.
"What does he mean?" Leonar asked, then blanched. "My God! Father!"
Breaking away from both of them, she ran into the hacienda.
"Do not worry, Capitan," Zorro told him. "The governor is safe and sound!"
Arrellanos lunged at him. Zorro neatly sidestepped the angry man, and Arrellanos ended up sprawled in the dust.
When he finally managed to pick himself up again and wipe the dirt from his eyes, Zorro was nowhere in sight, but in the distance he could see three riders that were soon identifiable as Don Alejandro, Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes.
Needless to say, he was not looking forward to the conversation that followed.
Christmas morning dawned too soon for the capitan, who lay in his bed with a splitting headache.
Memories from last night flooded back, and he remembered young de la Vega's derision when he'd come downstairs in his bathrobe and found Arrellanos sprawled in the mud.
"Why, capitan! Did you trip?"
Arrellanos' headache deepened when he realized that it had probably been Diego who'd tripped him in the sala, too.
His mood darkening, he leapt from the bed. Nothing from yesterday had worked!
He walked to the mirror and examined his reflection. He had a black eye, from when Sergeant Garcia was taking his boots off the night before. Covered in mud, they were even more difficult than usual and Arrellanos surveyed the damage gloomily. He wouldn't be his handsome self again for days!
Leonar sat on the arm rest of her father's chair, keeping him even closer than usual.
Cresencia hovered in the background, making sure that Diego was all right after he'd hit his head yesterday.
Alejandro yawned over his morning café, and Garcia and Reyes stood guard at the sala doors.
Diego wasn't letting one of them out of his sight.
Bernardo walked up behind him, placed his hand on Diego's shoulder. Diego looked over his shoulder, and saw that Bernardo held a gift in his right hand.
Diego took it, opened it and smiled. Inside was a delicately carved wooden figure of a fox. He quietly showed it to his father, then placed it back in the wrapping, as it was not the gift you'd keep on display. At least not yet.
Perhaps, in years to come, Zorro would reveal himself. Perhaps when Diego was a father, or a grandfather, he could tell about his Christmas adventure as the Fox.
But those years were far away now, and his amigo had to remain a secret.
Bernardo didn't need verbal thanks, or a gracias said with the hands. No matter what happened, that was something that wouldn't change.
Merry Christmas!