NOTE BY THE ACCOUNT HOLDER: THIS STORY IS NOT MINE!

WRITTEN BY KARLA GREGORY

Chapter Nineteen

Padre Ramon held out his hands to Diego who took them and dropped to his knees beside the chair, bowing his head. The padre placed a hand on Diego's head in a caress and said, "Oh Diego, my son, it is good to welcome you back." His voice broke with emotion.

Diego lifted up his head and the padre saw tears making their way down his face. "Padre Ramon, you are so right. I had lost sight of myself. The role of an avenger was never one I truly wanted to play, but what Monastario did to me ate away at me until the bitterness of revenge settled into my heart. You are right. As Diego, I would tell myself that I was only seeking justice for the crimes of Monastario. But as Zorro, who has always had more freedom, my personal desire for revenge could take root in my heart and grow. I am so glad, Padre, that you were here to capture Zorro with your words and set me free."

Padre Ramon leaned forward and hugged Diego to him and Diego held on tightly. Then, getting to his feet, Diego stood up and began taking off the black clothing. Soon he was dressed in his regular clothing again. Bringing another candle to replace the one about to go out, he seated himself in the chair across from the priest. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

Finally, Diego asked with open hands, "What am I to do now? I have laid the groundwork for tomorrow night, but how can I go through with it? How do I know that even if I do not wear the black, that Zorro the Avenger will not capture me again? I do not think that I could live knowing that I had thrown away all I had believed in for the sake of revenge. Can I take that chance?" He paused. "No. I will have to give this up and put it behind me. I will go back to California and leave Zorro here. I will never dare appear as Zorro again for fear of the same thing happening all over." He shook his head slowly while looking at the floor.

Padre Ramon was taken aback. He did not have any idea that Diego would react this way. All he had tried to do was to get Diego to put everything back into order. To make sure that he was not ruled by the passion of revenge.

"Oh no, Diego. You cannot do that!" he said earnestly. "It would tear you apart in a very short time. You would see some injustice done and be helpless to do anything about it. It would break your heart, or worse, cause you to turn away and grow cold and indifferent. I did not mean that you should cast your other identity away. You are Zorro and Zorro is you. But Diego de la Vega is at the heart of both. As long as you listen to your heart and not to your passions, you will do what is right. That is your strength, my son. You know in your heart what is right. You had merely lost your way for a time and I helped you to see that. But it was you, Diego, who knew the way back. Now that you have seen what passion can do, I believe it will have no more power over you.

"I trust you, my son. And I say that you must finish what you have begun. Then we will send you home to your father and the people of California. I am sure they still have need for their champion."

Diego heard the padre's words and knew the truth of them. If he went back to California and was unable to do anything to strike a blow against injustice, life would indeed not be worth living. He resolved to take what he had learned about himself here tonight and embrace it. He would master his passions as he had mastered the sword. He was Diego de la Vega, who was also Zorro. They would never be parted until justice and fairness prevailed in California.

"I will keep my appointment with Monastario, Padre," he said with quiet resolve. "It will be a fight to the death; his or mine. But if he dies by my hand, I will mourn the death of the man he could have been, not for the man he had become."

The padre nodded solemnly. He felt the strength of Diego's resolve. "It is well, Diego my son," the padre said. "Come, let us go to bed now. It is very late and you need to sleep."

"And you also, Padre," Diego said. "I have two small tasks that I need for you to perform at Monastario's house tomorrow night. They are things I cannot do for myself or I would not ask you to come. It is not without some risk, but I should have everything prepared before you arrive and the risk should be minimal."

"I will be glad to offer my help in what small ways that I can," said Padre Ramon.

"Good. I will go over the plan with you in the morning," Diego said, patting the padre on the back as he made his way to his bed.

The next day, Diego explained his plan to the padre as much to satisfy the priest's curiosity as to make very sure he had left nothing out. He told of the layout of the house and how he planned to render each guard helpless before the final confrontation with Monastario. He made sure the padre knew how to find the door in the hallway that led to the cell underneath the house. The padre had one task to perform outside at the cell window and one task to perform within the house.

Diego leaned forward earnestly, "And this is important Padre, while you are at the cell window you are to listen for Monastario to enter the cell. When you hear him enter, you must come into the house and lock the cell door from the outside so that there will be no escape for Monastario. Here is the key. I will already be inside the cell by the time you get there. After that, I wish you to leave the house." He held up his hand when Padre Ramon would have protested. "No. I do not wish you to see what will happen. I would spare you from the sight of men trying to kill each other. You may return after one hour. By that time, all will be over one way or another.

"If, when you look in the cell window from outside, you see Monastario still alive, I will be dead. Leave at once. If, on the other hand, you see me alive, Monastario will be dead and you can come and let me out. I probably will have need of your assistance to come back here. You still have plenty of bandages, do you not?"

"Yes, my son," was all the padre could manage swallowing past the lump in his throat. The calmness with which Diego gave his instructions unnerved him. This was the most horrifying thing the padre had ever heard, that a man be locked in a room with his most mortal enemy from which there was no escape. But one look into Diego's eyes was enough to show him that this was the only way it could end. Although Zorro the Avenger no longer dominated Diego, the padre could see that he was committed to this course of action. In all honor, he could do nothing less.

The padre spent the rest of the afternoon in the house, saying prayers for Diego who knelt and prayed beside him for a time. But then he got up and went outside with his sword to perform some fencing exercises and to see to the sharpness of his blade. They spoke little during this time.

While it was still light outside, Diego came in and got the mirror, towels, soap and the razor and went back outside. Half an hour later, he came back in without the beard he had worn for the last several months. In its place was a small pencil thin mustache. "I want him to see me as being restored to my former self; as I was when he first met me . . . and Zorro," said Diego by way of explanation. The padre approved. The mustache gave just the right amount of accent to Diego's handsome face.

The padre prepared some food, but neither he nor Diego had any appetite for it. They each drank a glass of wine slowly as the night grew deeper. Time seemed to be slipping away from the padre. The hour when they must leave rushed upon him no matter how he longed to put it off. They would not travel into the city together for the padre would go to the church to pray and wait until it was time for him to perform his tasks. Diego would go on to Monastario's house to make sure all was ready.

Finally, Diego changed into the haunting black of Zorro's costume. Padre Ramon watched as each piece was put on with deliberation. After a time, everything was in place except the hat, gloves and mask. Diego tied on the mask and put on his hat. Then he turned to Padre Ramon as he pulled on the gloves. Stepping further into the candlelight, he looked the priest in the eyes.

"Who do you see, Padre?" he asked with quiet dignity.

The padre was proud to say, "I see Diego de la Vega, who is Zorro."

Diego smiled at him warmly and with a broad salute and bow to the priest, he was gone without a sound.

"How does he do that?" the priest murmured to himself. If he did not know better, he would have thought Zorro to be more than human. He shook his head and got up to leave himself. Down the road a little bit, he came to a man's house that had a cart that he could borrow. He placed his bundle of bandages and ointments in it and pulled it towards Madrid. He hadn't told Diego about it, but he had a feeling that he would need the cart before the night was over.