NOTE BY THE ACCOUNT HOLDER: THIS STORY IS NOT MINE!
WRITTEN BY KARLA GREGORY
Chapter Thirteen
"Monastario!" exclaimed Padre Ramon.
"Si. Somehow Monastario had weaseled his way out of the charges against him and returned here to Spain where he once again wields great power, perhaps even more than he did in California. Monastario knew in his heart that I was Zorro and the humiliation he had suffered ate at him until he, along with another man whom Zorro had run out of California, hatched this plot to bring me here. Their purpose…? Revenge.
"Monastario planned it so that he could have me completely at his mercy. I was placed in a cell where he could come each night and gloat over me. One of the first things he did was to carve his initial on my chest. He said it was for all of those "Z's" I cut into his uniforms and other things while I was Zorro. You can see the result on my person." Here Diego's eyes seemed to smolder.
"After Monastario had gotten his fill of hurting me, humiliating me . . . breaking me, he was going to kill me. Escobar, the other man, was in complete agreement on that score. But they wanted to savor their revenge, especially Monastario, so he contrived a way to do so. Each night he would come to my cell, sword in hand, to fight me. All I had been given was a 'sword' made of bamboo. He would cut me to ribbons and strike me when I could not defend myself. There was no use to try and talk to him, so I kept silent. This went on for three endless nights, Padre.
"I finally devised a way to escape and as I was fleeing his house, I had the chance to make a promise to him which I intend to keep. The only safe haven I could think of was you, Padre Ramon. You don't know how I prayed that you had not been transferred elsewhere during my absence when I began to climb into your window. Your voice was that of an angel's when I heard it come out of the darkness."
By this time Padre Ramon had finished dressing Diego's wounds. It was going to take a long time; several weeks at best, to bring Diego back to some semblance of "good" health. "Well, Diego my son, your angel has a decidedly heavy heart for what you have had to bear. I am glad to help you all that I can. What can be done about Monastario? Can we go to the authorities?"
Diego closed his eyes and shook his head slowly as he opened them. "No, Padre. This is something Zorro started and Zorro is going to have to finish. The authorities here in Spain will not take my word over his since he has established himself here. I am merely a provincial.
I am also here without official authorization and can be put in jail for that alone. He has but to denounce me as a spy and I am finished. If I can prevail upon you for somewhere safe to stay while I heal, I would be most grateful."
The padre tried again. "Then let's just try to get you back home somehow. I have a few ship's captains that I can call upon for favors now and then. One of them is sure to help you return home."
"No, Padre. This time they only kidnapped me. Next time it may be a shot in the back or they may attack my father or someone else I love. No, it is best to stop it here so it can go no farther. It must end here. Escobar is not a threat to me without Monastario. He does not have the courage to continue this without him. So Monastario is the key. He must be brought to justice, and when there is no justice, there is Zorro," Diego said firmly.
"Is Zorro a man of revenge?" asked a concerned Padre Ramon.
"Until six months ago, Padre, I would have cried a resounding no! My only thought was to stop injustice wherever it was found, to right the wrongs that I saw, to help the weak oppressed by the strong. I was content with that. Of those I opposed, I harbored no hatred toward any of them beyond hatred of what they did. Mostly I pitied them for the lives they could have lead, but chose not to. Even Monastario. He could have been a great commandante, but he let ambition and greed overtake him. By the time I got to California, it was too late to change him."
Diego's eyes hardened. "But I have no more pity for Monastario. He has caused me to hold the bitterness of hatred in my heart. Pray for me Padre, that what I must do as Zorro is done for justice's sake and not for hatred or revenge."
The padre began putting away the medicines and cloths he had used on Diego's wounds. He himself had to fight feelings of hatred for what had been done to Diego. The only thing he could do was as Diego said, help him to heal and pray for him. Diego had told his story in such nobleness of spirit that it nearly broke the padre's heart to see the weight that was on the shoulders of the carefree youth that he had set upon a ship bound for California some three years ago.
"Come then, Diego we will speak no more of this now. Back to bed with you. Sleep is the best thing for you now. I will pray for you and I am sure God will show us what is right." He helped Diego slowly walk to the pallet and lay down. He was asleep almost instantly. The long talk had exhausted him.