AN: Initially, this story was only supposed to be a 1 chapter - 1 episode thing. But I guess it has gotten away from me. I, thus, hereby offer you the first (and I doubt it will also be the last) chapter related to the series, but containing 100% original material. Hope you enjoy it!

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A few days after Rafael and Marguerita left, José Macias, a young farmer who owned a small piece of land close to the De la Vegas' estate showed up at their doorstep, asking to see Don Alejandro.

The caballero told his servant to invite him inside, and the man took off his hat as he entered.

"Macias!" Don Alejandro uttered as he came to shake his hand. "Would you like something to drink?" He wondered.

"No, gracias, Don Alejandro!" The man replied. "I do not want to bother you. The truth is I came to ask for your help."

"What may I do for you, my friend?" The caballero wondered.

"It's about my land." He answered. "My sister, who is still working for Don Estaban, was asked for her hand in marriage. It's a young farmer from San Diego, and they are planning to move there after the wedding."

"Congratulations to your sister! I see Autumn is the season for weddings." The Don uttered, a pang of regret in his voice as none of those weddings was meant to bring his estate a new Dona.

"Si! Gracias, Don Alejandro!" The young man answered with a smile. "The reason why I am here, is that I wish to give Juana and her husband half of what our parents left us, as she is due, especially now that she'll start a new life, days away from me. However, I have just planted beans about a month ago, when the rains restarted, and I'm expecting a large crop soon! If I sell now, my work will be lost… So, I was wondering if you might be willing to help me. It would be just a short-time loan, and I am willing to pay you as much interest as you deem fair. I will also sign whatever document you deem necessary." The man uttered with wide, inquiring eyes.

"And… How much do you believe you will need?" The caballero inquired.

"My land is worth about 1100 pesos, Don Alejandro. I will need half of that." He replied. "I know it's much I am asking but –"

"It's a fair amount to give your sister." The caballero interrupted him. "Please, wait here! I'll be back in a couple of minutes." As he said that, he headed towards his room from where he took a bag of coins, and counted 600 pesos. "Here!" He offered the money bag. "550 as a loan, and the rest as a wedding gift to your sister."

José smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Don Alejandro! Where… What do you want me to sign?"

"Nothing, my friend!" The caballero dismissed him with a hand gesture. "I know you are an honest man and will pay me back when you'll have the money. Your word is all the guarantee I need."

"And you certainly have it, Don Alejandro!" The young man stated before saluting the don and returning to his wagon, a large smile on his lips.

"Was that José Macias I just saw leaving?" Diego inquired as he entered the house at returning from the stables.

His father nodded. "His sister is getting married and will be moving to San Diego with her new husband. He came to ask me for a loan so that he might give her the equivalent of her share of their family estate."

"Juana is getting married… and leaving Los Angeles? She used to be one of Victoria's closest friends when they were children. I think they still are rather close. She will surely miss her." Diego uttered. "You… did give him the loan, I assume…"

"Of course I did, Diego. I even added a little extra as a wedding gift from us."

The tall caballero nodded, smiling kindly, more than a little proud of his father.

ZZZ

Juana Macias married a couple of weeks later. After having thanked the De la Vegas for their generous gift in person, taking her goodbye from the people she had known her entire life, she and her new husband, Juan Contrera, left the pueblo carrying almost 1000 pesos – the money received from Juana's brother thanks to the De la Vegas, together with their savings and a small gift from her former employer – hidden in a secret compartment of their wagon.

Their journey was delayed, though, by four bandits who, having been in Los Angeles at the time the wedding had been celebrated, hearing the guests' speculations about the money they had with them, had decided to rob the newlyweds of all they had.

"Senor, Senora!" Their leader greeted as the four of them surrounded the wagon, some eight miles south of the pueblo. "How lucky we are to have met you. I was just telling my friends here that we are in dire need of a wagon."

"A woman to make us a decent meal would also come in handy." One of his cohorts added with a sly grin.

"No! Please, Senores! You may take all we have, but leave my wife alone!" Juan said, embracing the scared young woman.

"I am not feeling particularly generous today, I fear." The bandits' leader uttered as he pointed a gun at the young man. "Besides, your widow may need some… consolation."

Juana shook her head, fear in her eyes, as she looked desperately towards the man she loved.

The other bandits chuckled maliciously as their leader was about to pull the trigger. He never got the chance to do it, though, as the thrust of a whip made him lose his weapon. A black-clad rider the Los Angelinos knew well then proceeded to knock him out, and moved on to his cohorts, only one of which had the guts to fight him, while the others hurriedly ran away.

"Senor Zorro!" Juana uttered when the fight was over. "How did you know they would attack us?"

"I saw these men leaving Los Angeles shortly after you did, heading in the same direction, and decided it was prudent to keep an eye on you." He answered as he tied up the unconscious bandits. "Allow me to offer you my own wedding gift." He said, as he put the leader of the gang in the wagon, then did the same with his cohort. "These two are wanted murderers with prices on their heads. There's a garrison in Capistrano. Get them there, and the bounty is yours. I will go after the other two, but will meet you a while later and escort you to the Mission." He added as he saluted, remounted his horse and left the two.

The other bandits were easy to track, and soon they were tied up and wearing Zorro's mark as they entered Los Angeles on their horses, a note mentioning their identity and latest crime hanging on one of their necks.

As for the two newlyweds, just as he had promised, Zorro met with them a few miles south and accompanied them all the way to the Mission, where they received 200 pesos in reward money for the bandits they brought.

Seeing how three padres, together with two of the lancers, who were also heading to San Diego, offered to accompany the couple the rest of their way, the masked man decided he could return home certain that the Contreras would be safe during the rest of their journey.

ZZZZZZZ

As the De la Vega wedding date drew near, Diego spent most of his time finishing a painting he had started while Rafael and his fiancée had visited. It was a portrait of the two, which he made from memory and his father found it bore an incredible resemblance to the two young people.

"Finished!" The tall caballero uttered one afternoon of early October, just a few days before he and his father were set to leave for Santa Barbara.

Don Alejandro, who was reading at the time, stood up and came to look at the painting. "It's perfect! Your cousin and Marguerita will love it!" He stated.

"I certainly hope so. How about the other gifts?" Diego asked.

"Everything is packed and ready, Son. We just need to decide on our own luggage to take, then we'll be ready to leave on the 5th, as we've discussed." His father answered.

"Are you certain it's prudent to leave so early? I mean, the wedding is not until the 10th, and two days should suffice for us to get there if we use at least two horses." The tall caballero inquired, rather worried about leaving the pueblo without its fox.

He had beforehand agreed to the set departure date, after having found out from Mendoza that the Alcalde was leaving a day before them. Apparently, all the garrison commanders/ alcaldes had been summoned in Monterey for some undisclosed reason. Still, after a year spent defending Los Angeles and looking out for Victoria, he had second thoughts about leaving it even a moment before he truly needed to. Had she and Marguerita not had that silly conflict in the plaza over his masked self, the caballero would have even considered getting her an invitation to accompany him and his father to Santa Barbara for the wedding. After all, she and Rafael had also known each other since they were children, seeing how the caballero used to spend part of his summers with Diego and his father. Under the present circumstances, though, Victoria's presence at Rafael and Marguerita's wedding was out of the question.

"Of course, Diego! I have already made sure the men know everything they need to do while we are away, so the hacienda will be in good hands. Now, are you sure you don't want us to also take Felipe? I'm sure the boy would much enjoy attending your cousin's wedding." The older don replied.

"No… That's not a good idea, Father. Felipe is, in our hearts, a member of this family, but he's a servant in the eyes of the other dons." He answered, knowing that, even if he did want the boy to come along, leaving Tornado on his own for an entire week was not something he could do. Besides, as Felipe himself had put it when they had discussed that very subject, someone did need to stay and keep an eye on the pueblo for Zorro.

Thus, Diego left by carriage, together with his father, on October 5th, early in the morning, hoping to arrive in Buenaventura that afternoon. It was a long trip and, despite using four horses to cover the distance in the shortest time possible, they only made it to the Mission at dusk.

"Isn't that Cameleon, Uncle Rodrigo's stallion?" Diego asked, squinting his eyes as he noticed one of the horses in the Mission's stables. It was dark brown with a spot on his back leg resembling the animal which had given his name.

Don Alejandro neared the stallion. "It does look like him. But what would my cousin be doing here?"

"Waiting for us, perhaps?" Diego suggested although it seemed improbable even to him.

The two De la Vegas exchanged a glance and headed inside while their driver took care of the luggage. Though, despite carefully looking around the large hall where monks, neophytes, and travelers were eating together, they were unable to find the man they were searching for.

"Padre," Diego uttered as a monk passed by, "we are hoping to find Don Rodrigo de la Vega from Santa Barbara here. We saw his stallion in the stables, but he's not here. Do you, perhaps, know where he might be?"

"That's not his stallion anymore. It's mine!" A man stated from a nearby table as he stood up defiantly. "But I might be convinced to sell it to you, should you offer a right price for him."

"And you are?" Don Alejandro politely asked.

"Benito Herrera." The man introduced himself.

"I am Don Alejandro de la Vega and this is my son, Diego." The caballero replied. "May I know how you have convinced my cousin to sell you Cameleon? I have tried to buy him several times with no success."

"I didn't buy him. I won him in a race." The man answered. "But I might be convinced to separate myself from the horse for… let's say 2000 pesos?"

"He's 10. His glory years are far behind him. Even if he might have been worth that once, he's barely worth a third of that now." Diego replied to his father's dismay.

"I can get a better price from a butcher." Herrera uttered with a malicious smile.

Diego and Don Alejandro exchanged a concerned glance.

"1000 pesos." The old don offered. "It's all we can give you at present."

"1,500." The man demanded.

"I fear we simply don't travel with that much money, Senor! It's a shame we can't make the deal." Diego said as he signed to his father to head for one of the other tables.

Herrera took but a few moments before stopping them. "Wait! Fine! I'll agree to sell it for 1,500, Senores, as long as you pay on the spot."

The two caballeros exchanged another glance before they agreed.

They only discovered why the man had accepted the offer the following morning after he rode away. Cameleon had an injury to his front leg which had become infected. That meant that not only did he need urgent medical care, but, even if he could walk, he could only do it at a very slow pace.

Don Alejandro asked the Mission's blacksmith for help, and, after cleaning the wound and patching up the horse, the De la Vegas were back on their way, this time, only moving at the rhythm the injured stallion could maintain, and taking frequent breaks to allow him to rest and for the caballeros to check on his injury.

It, thus, took them the entire day to cover the remaining 27 miles to Santa Barbara, and they only arrived at Don Rodrigo's hacienda around dinner time.

Dona Carmen and her husband thoroughly embraced the young man they hadn't seen since he was still a teenager, having him and Don Alejandro promise that they will return to their custom of spending part of their summers together, and only noticed the horse when Don Alejandro mentioned they had a gift for his cousin.

"Cameleon! How in the world have you convinced that scoundrel to give it to you?" The don asked.

"He was injured, so he agreed to sell him." Diego answered.

"That cabron!" The don stated as he went to check on his prize horse, then had his stable hand make sure he'd get properly fed and cared for. "He challenged my son to a race, the winner due to take possession of the loser's horse. Marguerita liked his Arabian, so he accepted, certain he could not lose if riding my prize horse. When they were out of sight, though, Herrera scared Cameleon into throwing him off. It was a miracle that my son escaped unhurt." Don Rodrigo explained.

"If I had arrived here earlier, I would have prevented all of that from happening!" His sister, Alma, mentioned as she also embraced Diego and Don Alejandro. "Senor Herrera is well-known in Monterey for his less-than-honest practices."

"Well… What's done is done. But I am glad to have my stallion back, and I am certain he must also be. After he won, Herrera refused to sell him, so I thought I'd never see him again. Just tell me what you paid for him, and I will return all your money."

"That's not necessary, Cousin. I paid less than he is worth, thanks to my son's negotiation skills. Besides, I would have hated for such a good horse to end up in a slaughterhouse. Just make sure he gets healthy and lend him to me a few weeks next year. I have some mares he might like to meet." Don Alejandro replied, and his cousin eagerly agreed. "By the way, I have to tell you about these wild horses my son brought home a year ago!" The don continued as they entered the house.

ZZZ

After an early dinner, during which he was forced to regale his hosts and the other guests already there with tales of his time in Spain, the tall caballero braced himself for what was to come since, having found a match for her son, Dona Carmen threatened him that she would do her best to find him a beautiful senorita to marry, certain that the wedding would provide the perfect occasion for such efforts to be successful.

Since all of the hacienda's rooms were full, only one remaining for the Los Angeles De la Vegas, Diego agreed to share Rafael's room until the wedding, as they did while growing up and let his father sleep alone. The servants, thus, installed a second bed in their young master's quarters and the two cousins spent several hours that night talking, before finally turning in. Since Rafael had only spent less than a day in Los Angeles, and the evets of the time made him quite reticent to talk to anyone, they still had many stories to tell each other, and they intended to take full advantage of the time until the wedding to do so.

ZZZ

The following days passed rather pleasantly, and Diego was soon able to find several places in the house and the courtyard where he could easily escape the single senoritas' unwanted attentions until his eyes were caught by Marguerita's younger sister.

ZZZ

"Uncle!" Rafael called the afternoon before his wedding, as his fiancée finally gave him the chance to take a break from dancing.

"Nephew! This is a fine party your father put together. I only wish I was a few decades younger to properly enjoy it!" Don Alejandro mentioned, eyeing a group of young women with a sly smile.

"Perhaps you can tell Diego what he's missing. I believe he's escaped an hour ago already." The young man stated.

"Oh... I'm afraid there's little I can do about my son. It's not that I don't like the way things are right now, but he's at the age when he needs a wife. The only problem is that he doesn't seem inclined to give any young woman a chance to awaken the passion I know is in his heart."

"Heartbreak will do that." He answered to Don Alejandro's dismay. "But I remember that, when we were younger, he was mostly the same, except towards Victoria Escalante. I always thought he had a weak spot for her, but she seemed to have her eyes set on another young man."

"Juan Ortiz. Yes… Old history. He is in the Navy now. I don't believe they've seen each other since his family left Los Angeles." The older caballero uttered. "To be fair, when my son returned for Spain, for a couple of weeks, I was certain he'd start courting Victoria, considering how they looked at each other the first time they met again. But, then, Zorro appeared, and I guess, she's only had eyes for him since, especially since the man doesn't seem exactly indifferent to her, either."

Rafael nodded pensively, then decided to search for his cousin.

"I'd suggest you put that back!" He heard Diego say as he neared a study at the back of the hacienda.

"Don Diego?" Rafael recognized his soon-to-be sister-in-law's voice. "I was just…"

"That belonged to my aunt. It's one of the very few things my uncle has reminding him of his dead sister. Unlike the silver ashtray you stole yesterday, it has sentimental value to him." Diego continued to Rafael's confusion.

"You know about that?" The young woman asked.

"Yes. And about Aunt Alma's fan you took the evening before."

"You're going to tell on me?"

"If that were my intention, I would have already warned my uncle." He replied, and his cousin, who was listening in on their conversation felt a shiver down his spine at recognizing those words. "It's a compulsion, isn't it?" Diego asked.

"I can't help myself." The young woman conceded.

"Perhaps you might consider finding help. Someone you can trust." He suggested. "I've read a theory stating that kleptomania should be considered a disease, and treated as such."

"You think I am ill?" She wondered.

"In a way. Not much is known about what causes one to become a kleptomaniac, though. However, you are a young senorita, with a good name, and such impulse might end up ruining your life and affect your family's reputation in the process." Diego answered.

From where he was standing, Rafael saw his fiancée's sister nod and, after a short curtesy, exiting the room, passing by him, unaware he was there.

Diego glanced around, then also exited, closing the door behind him. Unlike the young woman, though, he saw his cousin straight away.

"Rafael!" He exclaimed as the younger man stared at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"Thank you, Diego!" He replied after a few seconds during which he tried to decide what to say.

"I guess you heard that… She will need supervision." The older man replied.

"Yes. Thank you for that, as well." Rafael uttered, then returned to the party, leaving Diego rather confused.

ZZZ

The following day's wedding was, in most of the guests' opinion, the best they had ever attended, as neither of the in-laws spared any expense.

The hacienda's courtyard was decorated with fresh flowers, the food was made by some of the best cooks in Santa Barbara, the fruits and meats came from all over California as well as from further-away lands, brought by the commercial ships docking in the port, and the bride shone in her white silk dress. The only way the party could have been any better in Diego's opinion was if Victoria had been there to dance with him. As things stood, though, he still had a good time, dancing with the married senoras in order to avoid the senoritas.

"You are a very accomplished dancer, Diego!" Marguerita complimented him after they finished their dance and headed for the table where the drinks were.

"So are you, Cousin!" He answered courteously, taking a glass of water.

"Don't you ever drink? Not even on such occasions?" She inquired.

"I try to stay away from alcohol. It's a promise I made myself after one too many glasses almost led to my downfall." He answered.

"You didn't tell us that story…" The young woman admonished.

"Marguerita!" Rafael hurried to take his wife's hand, unable to suppress a little unconscious jealousy at seeing her with the man he had discovered was Zorro. No matter how grateful he felt towards his cousin, and despite knowing he loved a certain taverness, he still didn't like to see his wife with the man who could have easily taken her away from him, had he wanted to do so.

Diego smiled, unaware of the young man's true feelings. "I have one more gift for you, and I believe this is the perfect moment for it!" He said with some enthusiasm as he headed for the musicians.

Taking out a few sheets of paper from his jacket while waiting for the piece played at the time to end, he then signaled for everyone to stop, and took a seat at the piano.

"The following piece is a gift for Rafael, whom I always thought of as the brother I was never privileged to have, and Marguerita, his beautiful bride. I hope you enjoy it!" He told everyone as the entire courtyard became silent in order to listen to the music he had written.

"Rich, handsome, polite, intelligent, a wonderful painter, composer and piano player. How is your nephew still unmarried?" Rafael heard one of his family friends ask his mother as Marguerita seemed moved to tears by Diego's sonata.

"Not for lack of opportunity, I can assure you." She answered. "Frankly, my dear, I don't know what's wrong with him. I made sure to introduce him to every marriageable woman in the territory. Several are rich heiresses, and most certainly beautiful, but he won't grant them a second glance. I've started to even wonder if he likes women. Any man in his place would have jumped at the chance to break a few hearts…" Dona Carmen replied.

"Diego is too good a man to do that. He might just be the best man I know, in fact." Rafael retorted, addressing his mother. "Besides, he had his heart broken. I doubt he will even look at another woman before he feels ready to give love another chance."

A sly grin on his face at noticing with some satisfaction that he had managed to silence his mother and her friend, the groom then took his bride's hand and led her towards the tall caballero who was just finishing the musical piece.

"That was beautiful, Cousin!" He said as he embraced him in the enthusiastic applause of the people there. "I hope we'll listen to it at every one of our wedding anniversaries!"

"It's a gift, Rafael! You can listen to it whenever you want." Diego replied as he handed the younger man the sheets with the notes.

"True," his cousin answered, "but I doubt anyone will be able to play it as well as you." He answered, his subtly invitation not lost on Diego. "Why don't you take Marguerita for another dance?" He then asked, as the music restarted.

The tall caballero obliged, offering his hand to the young woman, and Rafael stood watching them, a smile on his lips.

ZZZ

The newlyweds spent the night in a room of the hacienda which had been arranged especially for the two of them, and rose rather late the following day, barely in time to attend the lunch held in honor of their wedding, and to which just as many people participated as had in the previous day's celebration.

"Nephew!" Don Alejandro called Rafael as he and Marguerita made their way to the courtyard. "May I have a word?"

The young man nodded and followed the elderly don to the sala.

"Anything wrong, Uncle?" He asked.

"It's about Diego. You said something yesterday, then I heard some comments your mother made, and I was wondering if you might give me some details. My son, I fear, was not very forthcoming about issues of the heart since he's returned home." He explained.

"I believe you should ask him, Uncle. Frankly, I think he might be disappointed to find out I said anything."

"Then why did you?" Diego asked from the doorway, as he happened to overhear their conversation.

"I'm sorry, Cousin. A conversation I overheard didn't sit right with me, and I felt the need to intervene." Rafael confessed.

"Well, whatever you said it worked." He replied with a smile.

"Diego," his father raised a finger, determined to insist upon the subject, and aware of exactly what his son meant, as he, himself, witnessed Dona Catalina making sure the young women at the party would stop bothering the young caballero.

"Father, I do have a few more things about my time in Spain to recount to you, but this is neither the time, nor the place." He uttered as he put a hand around his father's shoulders, and guided him outside.

"Cousin… May I have a word?" Rafael stopped him. Diego glanced towards his father, who nodded and left, allowing them to talk in private. "I hope you won't assume that I am incapable of keeping a secret. Because I am. I only told my mother you needed time to mend your heart, which we both know it's just a good excuse..."

"An excuse?" The tall caballero faked not knowing.

"I… I mean… I can understand you can't commit to a woman at present… considering…"

"Yes?"

Rafael took a deep breath. "I know you love Victoria Escalante, Diego." He said and continued before the older man was able to protest. "And I know one more secret my uncle – or anybody else, it seems – doesn't seem to even suspect about you. I know you are a much better man than he or anyone else even imagines. The kind of man able to… create faith where there is none."

The tall caballero looked at him with some surprise, realizing the younger man had somehow guessed his secret.

"I know I have many flaws. I'm certainly stubborn and hot-headed. But, I would never betray you, no matter what. I hope you know that." The younger man continued.

"Rafael, I don't know what you are trying to say, but, whatever you think…" His cousin tried to deny.

"I am a De la Vega, Diego. I know that no De la Vega would stand idly by while others are suffering. Certainly not you. So, please, don't try to pretend! As I said, your secrets are safe with me."

Diego realized he shouldn't insist in his denial. "Yes… I hope they are…" He, eventually, uttered.

"And I do believe I owe you an apology. Jealousy might have blinded me for a moment…"

"No apology needed, Rafael! I am only glad things worked out."

"Thanks to you… Shall we return to the courtyard?" The younger man asked, and his cousin agreed with a smile.

The following day, as the newlyweds left on their honeymoon and the guests also started taking goodbye from their hosts, Diego and Don Alejandro embraced their relatives and made their way south, promising not to let several years pass again before making the trip back.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

AN: Just an FYI about the value of money during the early 1800s in California. According to my research, the Spanish lancers of the time used to make about 350 pesos/ year and, unlike in the TV show, they went around in rather worn-out uniforms prompting many to say the Neophytes working at the Missions were better dressed than the King's soldiers.

In the TV Show, at one point (season 2) it is stated that Mendoza made some 20 pesos/week, and at another point (season 3) that his lancers made 10 pesos/month, which I, for one, find incoherent. But, perhaps, Luis Ramone was more generous with his men than De Soto…