The summer holiday, after accepting a friend's invitation, Diego spent mostly on a ship, sailing across the Mediterranean, from Spain to the Ottoman Empire on the other side, and, on the way, stopping in Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Northern Africa.

His grandfather resented a little his decision to spend the entire summer away, but, he did also understand it. Diego was young, avid to learn, and fascinated by other cultures, not unlike he, himself had been in his youth. Besides, the young man compensated by spending both his winter and spring holidays with the old man.

ZZZ

Under the guidance of his sword master, Sir Edmund, whom Don Alejandro had arranged to teach him, by the beginning of 1808, Diego had become the University's fencing champion and started taking part in major competitions.

It was on those occasions that he again met De Soto, who had meanwhile joined the Military Academy in Segovia and was doing his best to climb the ranks.

"Twenty."

"Fifteen. It's still far more than you make in a month!" Emmanuel, who was also trying to make a name for himself as a fencer heard De Soto say one day, just before one of the competitions was about to start. Curious, he peeked from behind the corner where he was and saw his former colleague hand some money to another young man.

Some ten minutes later, he saw the same young man being defeated by Ignacio in the first fight of the day.

"They cheated," he informed Diego, who was also watching with him.

"How do you know?"

"I saw De Soto paying his adversary."

"Really? It seems like he learned nothing…"

"A man like that is incapable of learning, Diego." Saying that Emmanuel left his friend and headed for one of the organizers, a man he knew after having presented him with a letter from his uncle.

While they talked, Diego also defeated his first adversary, advancing to the next round of the competition.

De Soto defeated his next adversary about an hour later. His third adversary of the day, however, was a former fencing champion and, as soon as he saw the man, he smiled and headed towards him, offering to buy him a drink. Ten minutes later, said man gathered his things and informed the organizers that he was dropping out of the competition. They were just about to announce De Soto's win by forfeit, and the young man had a big smile on his lips, when, after a short intervention by the man Emmanuel had talked to earlier, a different announcement came.

"Señor Emilio Coreli withdraws. Señor Ignacio de Soto is disqualified," said the announcer for all to hear.

"What?" De Soto muttered, then headed for the table the judges occupied. "I think there's been a mistake," he said.

"There was no mistake, Señor!" a short man whom Ignacio noticed had been talking with Emmanuel and Diego said as he overheard him. "Señor Dos Santos witnessed you bribing your first adversary, and I, myself, overheard you blackmailing Señor Coreli, a while earlier, threatening him you would reveal his personal indiscretions. I may not condone his behavior, Señor, but I will not have the likes of you in this competition, or in any other I preside over."

De Soto became completely red with both embarrassment and anger while the man scolded him. When he was finished, their former colleague glanced at Diego and Emmanuel, renewed hatred in his eyes, then left with no more words, vowing to one day take his revenge on the men so eager to prevent him from advancing in life.

ZZZ

Diego's most skilled adversary during those fencing competitions was another of De Soto's new schoolmates, a man by the name of Gilberto Risendo who had taken an interest in the Californian since the moment he had first heard his name.

Gilberto was almost as tall as Diego, agile with the sword, and quite determined to defeat the young De la Vega by any means. Yet, he never did, Diego ending up the champion in each and every one of the competitions they both took part in.

While obviously annoyed with the Californian for besting him, Gilberto still tried to win his friendship, after each lost confrontation, inviting him and Emmanuel to share drinks at one of the central taverns. Diego, who was not much of a drinker and tried his best to avoid alcohol, only agreed when his best friend pointed out it was impolite to refuse a man three times in a row.

It was, thus, a hot afternoon in late April when Diego, Emmanuel, and Gilberto sat at a table in one of Madrid's finest taverns. About an hour earlier Gilberto had proven a better swordsman than Emmanuel, only to be, once again, bested by Diego.

"So… I have been wondering, De la Vega, how many years have you dedicated to the study of fencing? Because I doubt you have become this good in just a little over a year since you started with Sir Kendall." Gilberto asked that evening, after forcing the tall caballero to drink a glass of red wine.

Diego smiled, feeling flattered. "It's been almost two years, actually. And, frankly, I have never studied it in California. My father tried to teach me when I was younger but gave up on me rather quickly. Everything distracted me at the time. Birds, the sound of the wind in the trees, a new colt our men were trying to break… I don't believe any other master than Sir Kendall would have even been able to help me find any passion for the sport," he replied, feeling already rather dizzy from the wine.

"I see. Well, then, you must be some kind of prodigy!" Gilberto exclaimed. "And your father… Is he a good swordsman?"

"I do believe he used to be while he was in the army. I, myself, have never seen him fight anyone, so I can't say." Diego uttered as Gilberto refilled his glass.

"Life in California must be very peaceful, then."

"Indeed. At least, these days…" Diego replied with a smile. "They say all one can do in California is marry, raise fat children, and watch his vineyards grow."*

"Sounds like a blessed life," Gilberto continued, indicating for Diego to drink another glass.

"If you'll excuse me, Señores, I see a Señorita who might benefit from my attentions," Emmanuel said, bored with the discussion, and set on improving his night by trying to seduce a young woman. Standing up, he left the two alone and headed for the bar.

"What about you, Diego? Isn't there any woman you might fancy in this tavern?" Gilberto inquired with a chuckle after Emmanuel left.

"There's only one woman for me and she is very far away right now," he replied. "Though I do keep her in my heart."

"Really? Don't tell me you are one of those men who, though given the opportunity to taste all the pleasures life has to offer, still decides to remain faithful to a woman they haven't seen in years and might be married by the time they do."

"She'll wait for me! I know that much," he answered.

Risendo just chuckled again and tried to pour Diego another glass of wine.

"No more, thank you," the caballero said covering his glass. "I fear I have a very low tolerance for alcohol."

"Are you sure? It would be a shame for such good wine to go to waste…"

"I am quite certain. One glass already has me rather dizzy."

Gilberto poured himself another glass and took a sip, while Diego carefully watched him.

"How about you?" the caballero asked. "Do you have a girl?"

"No. I am not exactly prone to romanticism."

"And your family? Where are you from? I don't believe I know too much about you."

"I was born in Madrid, but never knew my family. The midwife who assisted my mother in giving birth was the one who raised me."

"And your parents gave you away, just like that?"

Gilberto just smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. I can't imagine what sort of parents would just abandon a child like that."

"I didn't understand it either when my mother – my adoptive mother, that is – told me everything."

"So you've never met your parents."

"No… My mother is dead… As for my father, I might just decide to go meet him one day. He's in the colonies."

"Perhaps you should go meet him then…" Diego said pensively. "Who knows? You might also have siblings…"

"I know of one… My father loves him but, from all accounts, he's the kind that would steal a good friend's señorita and stab him in the back the first chance he's got."

"Not the kind of man you'd choose as a brother, then, if you had a choice…"

"Indeed… Do you have brothers, Diego?"

"No. I'm an only child. My mother could no longer conceive after I was born, unfortunately. I would have loved having a sibling… Though Emmanuel does a good job compensating for one, I have to say." Diego replied with a smile and a glance at his best friend.

Gilberto nodded, trying to smile, but it came out fake, and he very well knew it. Glancing for a moment at Dos Santos, he took another sip of his wine. "You know what would cheer me up?" he asked a moment later.

"What?"

"Winning a fight against you! How about it, De la Vega? Will you give me another shot at defeating you? Right now? We can use a back alley… It will surely be interesting."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, I'm afraid I am not exactly in the best shape right now…"

"Then I stand a chance!"

Seeing how he insisted, and Diego, deep inside, felt sorry for the young man, he agreed to the suggestion and followed him to a side alley, set on allowing Gilberto to win for once. There, they both drew their swords and Risendo attacked, slow at first, as if sizing him up, then increasingly fiercely.

Rather dizzy from the wine, the caballero realized a little too late that he was having trouble parrying the other man's attacks. Their duel ended when Gilberto, taking advantage of his adversary's lack of balance, disarmed him, causing his sword to fall a few feet away. Then they remained there for a few moments, Gilberto's sword at Diego's neck, the young man seeming to hesitate if to pierce it or not.

Making up his mind, he was about to move forward when Emmanuel intervened, recovering Diego's lost sword and using it to deviate Risendo's blade, thus saving his friend.

"What on earth are you doing," Dos Santos asked.

"You had no business interfering. I won! His life was mine…" Gilberto said, hatefully.

"Life? It was a friendly match, and I am drunk!" Diego noted.

"This is no way to eliminate the competition," Emmanuel said, pointing the sword at the other man.

Gilberto thought about fighting him, too, certain he'd be no match for him, but, instead, he lowered his saber, gave Emmanuel a spiteful look, and started heading away. Passing by Diego, he stopped for a few seconds and glanced at him. "We'll meet again, De la Vega," he said or, better yet, threatened, then continued on his way.

The two friends followed him with their gaze till he turned a corner.

"That man is clearly mad," Emanuel said when they could no longer see him.

"Or drunker than I am…" Diego uttered.

His friend helped him lean on him as they started walking. "Come, let's go back! We might get in trouble if we are not in the dorms by curfew," he said, dismissing all thoughts of Gilberto Risendo at the time.

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*Quote from the 1940's "The Mark of Zorro." Love it too much not to include it given the chance.