Chapter 6 – Apollo vs Zeus
"I don't see why not," Don Alejandro said when Esteban asked him if they could take part in the horse race. "I think it is a fantastic idea. For both of you." Don Alejandro looked at his son then, hopeful. "After all, Diego, you are an excellent rider. You have a very good seat. I think you could win that race riding on Apollo if you put your heart to it."
"What happens if the horses get hurt? Have you forgotten what happened last year to Don Pedro's chestnut?"
"That was an unfortunate, freak accident, Diego. It should not have happened, and I don't think it will again. It is so decided: you'll ride Apollo and Esteban can ride Zeus. If you win, it will be an excellent publicity for my stallions."
"Thank you, Uncle. Brilliant! Come on Diego, let's go for a ride. I want to get more familiar with Zeus before Saturday." He left for the stables followed by a reluctant Diego, who gave up on arguing because he knew better than that. When his father used the expression it is so decided, there was no point in arguing.
"Alejandro, are you sure about this? I don't think that's going to help Esteban at all," Emilio said after the younger men left.
"Probably not, but it will help Diego. Gosh, how I would like to see him as spirited as your son!"
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, they say."
"And it is so true! Maybe we should swap them then. Come on, I want to see how they get on with the horses," he said, laughing, slapping his brother's back on the way to the stables.
Felipe followed them with a sad, long face. When Don Alejandro realized, he passed his arm around his shoulder, sympathetic.
"I'm sorry Felipe, but you know the rules: you have to be over 18 to take part in this race. Otherwise, I would let you have Titan on Saturday. Don't worry, in only a few years from now you'll be there," Alejandro said, ruffling the youngster's hair until a smile returned to his face.
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"You should only run on the long endurance race, I think. These horses are not fast enough on the short distances, but they can run for hours at a slower gallop," Don Alejandro said when the stallions were saddled and ready to go.
"Yes, of course, that's what I was thinking," Esteban said while mounting up on Zeus, a beautiful grey. "There is no point to take part in the sprint race. By the time these Andalusians could pick up the speed, the English thoroughbreds would have finished already."
"That's right," Don Alejandro said, nodding approvingly. "Can you jump?"
"Yes, of course."
"There are usually a few small obstacles to jump along the way on the endurance race. These horses should also be all right for those, so don't avoid them by taking the longer routes." The old don slapped Apollo's strong, wide neck lovingly. He was a stunning dark bay with a long, luscious, black mane many women could be jealous about. "Damn it boy, if I knew this was going to happen, I could have trained you to top condition for this race!"
The horse neighed loudly and bobbed his head then as if agreeing with his master, chewing the bit.
Diego hopped on Apollo, and when Felipe let go of the reins on both horses, the two cousins set off at a trot that soon became a fast gallop, racing each other towards the horizon at top speed.
"Look at them go! What a magnificent sight!" Don Alejandro said, proud like a peacock.
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Esteban was an excellent rider. Diego could not deny that fact. But so was he, at least when he wasn't pretending to be clumsy, so they both enjoyed the exhilarant fast pace of that improvised race. Riders and horses were at loggerheads with each other, trying to get some advantage over the other, but they ended up running side to side almost with an identical stride.
"I knew you could do it!" Esteban shouted, with Zeus pushing himself to be faster than Apollo unsuccessfully.
"Of course I can! Which doesn't mean that I want!" Diego shouted back.
They were approaching a fallen tree, which lay across like a show jumping obstacle on a side of the path.
"Let's jump over that trunk!" Diego said, heading towards it.
Apollo jumped over it easily, the same as Zeus, and both horses carried on galloping not losing any speed, undaunted.
"These horses are great!" Esteban said, grinning.
They carried on for a while until Diego slowed down Apollo, and Esteban did the same with Zeus, until they let the horses relax at an easy trot, catching their breath.
"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that because I won't believe you," Esteban said.
"Of course I did. However, there are some reasons for me to be reluctant to show off in a horse race."
"I have no idea what those reasons could be."
"Well, it doesn't matter, because I am taking part in this one with you. I'm very sorry, but you will need to apply yourself hard if you want to win this time."
"Maybe it was a mistake to spur you to do this then," Esteban joked.
"Yeah. Your fault."
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"Diego, is it true you are taking part on the long race tomorrow?" Victoria asked the next day at the tavern when he went back to the pueblo to finish the article he was writing.
"Yes, it is."
"Why? You don't have to. You don't need the money, and I don't think it is a good idea. It could be dangerous, especially for you."
"Victoria, I appreciate your concern, but I am a grown-up man. I think I can handle it," he said harshly. He was fed up to be told he was a useless coward while at the same time he was expected to do something about it. It was especially hurting when those comments came from Victoria or his father, and with all the tension Esteban had created recently, he could not take it any longer.
"I'm sorry, Diego. I didn't mean to offend you," she said, blushing. "Of course you are. It's only that I'm worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't use that tone with you."
"Is Esteban also taking part?"
"Yes, he is. He's the one who got me into this mess."
"Right," she said, setting the wine bottle down on the counter with a loud thud while looking at Esteban, who was talking to Sergeant Mendoza and a group of soldiers at the far end of the tavern. She looked angry, and Diego had to wonder why her feelings for his cousin seemed to be so erratic.
"Excuse me, Diego, I have work to do at the back," she said then, disappearing into the kitchen.
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Victoria rushed into the kitchen, upset. She had done it again, putting Diego down carelessly and unnecessarily, and this time he had looked really upset about it. She had done that many times before, thoughtlessly, but he had hardly ever reacted. Not anymore.
Regretting to be so mean to her friend, she got a board and a sharp knife and started to chop onions furiously. Maybe if I had not flirted with Esteban to start with, Diego would not have felt the need to compete with him, she thought. It is my fault. I hope he doesn't get hurt tomorrow.
The onions made her cry, and once started she carried on with real tears when she thought about Zorro, happy to have a valid excuse to have them running down her cheeks like that. She loved Zorro, but she knew she could easily fall for Esteban as well if she was not careful, and she felt really bad about it. But she could not help it. Although she had tried to deny her feelings, she felt attracted to him, and the thoughts of a normal life with a normal man kept popping into her mind, countless times every day since she had met him.
With her vision blurred by the tears, she saw someone walking through the curtains into the kitchen. She blinked quickly to get rid of them, cleaning her eyes with her sleeve. It was Diego.
"Victoria, are you all right? Why are you so upset?"
"I'm not upset, Diego. I'm chopping onions," she said with a forced smile.
"Yes, I can see that, but there is something else. I'm sorry if I have upset you."
"It's nothing to do with you, don't worry. But as I already said, I'm not upset. I am chopping onions, that's all." She carried on crying and handling the knife at such speed Diego feared she was going to chop her fingers off.
"Stop it, please," he said, placing his hand over the knife and her still undamaged fingers. When she stopped, looking at him with drenched, red eyes, he gently took the knife off her hand and set it down on the table.
"Calm down, please, and tell me what's wrong."
She hesitated for a moment, trembling, and then she gave in, seeking comfort in his arms while crying on his chest.
"It's Zorro. We are engaged now. He called me fiancée a few nights ago and I thought it was wonderful at the time, but I can't help thinking we are never going to be able to get married and have a life together. This is pointless. It's taking forever. His fight goes on and on, and I…" She could not continue, sobbing uncontrollably, ashamed to behave like that.
Diego was shocked. He had not realized what a profound impact the engagement had made on Victoria, and it broke his heart to see her like that. He knew he should tell her the truth as soon as possible to avoid any more suffering, but that was not the right moment for it.
"It's all right. Calm down," he said, tapping her back gently, trying to soothe her like a baby. He loved having her in his arms, and he wondered if it would be better to give up the deception and kiss her senseless. If he had known what was going through her mind right then he would have done it, because that approach would have worked wonderfully.
It took a long time, but eventually she stopped shaking and crying and she pulled back from the embrace, looking down to the floor while biting her lower lip, deeply embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, Diego. There is nothing you can do about this, but thank you for your support. I feel much better now."
"Good," Diego said, swallowing hard. He knew this embarrassing moment would come back with a vengeance when he could finally muster the courage to tell her the truth, because she would feel so betrayed and manipulated. "Don't worry. Things will work out well for you in the end. I am sure of that."
"Thank you, Diego. Now, if you could be so kind to return the knife, I'll carry on preparing dinner," she said in a much lighter tone, with her palm up and waiting.
"Certainly," he said, placing the knife on her hand again. "I'll be working in the newspaper office this afternoon if you feel like talking more later."
"Thank you, Diego. Goodbye."
After he left the kitchen, she put the knife down and got a glass of wine. While drinking it, she tried to make sense of what had happened there, because she wasn't sure. She had felt safe in his arms, greatly comforted, but, under the circumstances, strangely aroused as well. She had always liked Diego, since she was a child, but after he came back from Spain, she had given up on him due to his apparent lack of interest, and she had fallen in love with Zorro. Why couldn't he admit his feelings for her, if he had any, and show them in the open so they could do something about it, like Esteban had done? The closest he had ever been was during that night at the windmill, when she thought he was going to say something, but he didn't. Diego was a mystery; one she could not understand. But at least he was a loyal friend, always there for her, and he didn't ask much in return.
She decided she would go to the race the next day and cheer him on all the way, no matter how bad his performance could be, while continuing to ignore Esteban.
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