The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
"Oh, Senor Moreno, I still haven't heard yet," Zorro smiled," who exactly am I?"
"You, Senor," the writer smiled, "are Zorro. That's all anyone needs to know." The man smiled and took off in the direction of the Mission San Fernando.
Zorro smiled and gratefully thanked the powers above for the stranger not revealing Zorro's identity.
Several Years Later. . .
It was another hot, scorching day in the pueblo and all who had no need to be outside were taking a long, cool siesta anywhere they could keep the heat from hitting them.
Very few citizens were outside waiting for the coach to arrive on it's weekly delivery run. Few dared brave the scorching heat just to retrieve their packages, which they could get later on in the day when it became cooler.
Victoria Escalante, however, was one of the very few outside awaiting the coach. She was waiting for a special delivery. A book from Spain. A book published about a year ago, the news of it's publication was not widely known in the pueblo but as soon as it was, she knew people would be scrimping together every peso to purchase it.
The book, written by one Sebastian Moreno cronicled the exploits of Zorro. The author, Victoria remembered, had resided in her tavern for the two weeks that he was in gathering his information on the masked bandit.
Then he had decided to leave suddenly, with the information on the masked bandits identity, without telling a single soul. She hoped, with the information contained in this book, that she would discover the identity of her masked man and know him as the man he was and not just the masked hero that the people had made him out to be. There had to be more to the masked man then anyone, including the one person closest to him, had ever seen. Perhaps this writer could reveal some more insight into the man and his nature. Why he did what he did, sacrificed so much, gave up a woman he professed to love so deeply, to fight for the injustice inflicted on the people.
Victoria respected him for all his deeds but longed to get to know the man rather then the legend. While at first the legend attracted her, she found, as she matured and grew older, that she craved to know the real man behind these heroic actions. She only prayed that when she found out who he was, she would still love him the same as she did when he wore the mask.
The arrival of the coach prevented any more thoughts to form in her head and she waited anxiously for her package to be delivered.
She waited patiently as letters and packages were handed out. One rather large package was delivered for the de la Vega's and Felipe waited for the manifest so that he could sign for it.
Finally Victoria's little package was found and they handed it to her. She was nearly shaking with excitement as she signed the manifest and then disappeared into the tavern, the package clutched tightly to her bosom.
Felipe stared at the strange behavior and decided that he would have to tell Diego about this when he got back to the hacienda. Something about that book-sized package Victoria had received had made him nervous.
Victoria tore at the wrapping as she strode up the stairs to her room. She closed the door tightly and sat on the bed, her fingers sliding beneath the packaging and freeing the book from the paper that enclosed it. She wrapped a serape around her shoulders and snuggled into her bed to begin reading......
She opened the cover and stared at the wonderful likeness of Zorro that had been sketched onto the page.
Below it were these words......
'This book is dedicated to the hero's and villains of the New World.
To those who shed their blood, sweat and tears for the new life promised to them.
To a man who fought the tyranny and hardship the new land brought to the troubled people.
To a man who gave up those he loved the most in his life, to protect and serve his people..... El Zorro."
Victoria found tears coming to her eyes as she read the preface to the book. If what the book contained was as eloquently written as the first page, she doubted there would be a dry rag in the place when she was finished. She turned the crisp, freshly printed page and continued........
It was hours later when Victoria was finally able to set the book down. So many of her thoughts and feelings had been brought to the surface by the eloquent words. Feelings she had never been able to fully explain leapt to life as the author described what kind of man Zorro was and how he fought the injustice of the government. Victoria had gained a new respect for the man she loved and more then ever desired to know the man without the mask to separate them.
There was precious little revealed about the name of the man behind the mask, but what meant more to her, things that she never even thought of, were little things that were mentioned. The experiments created to fool the alcalde, the kind gentle tone of his voice as he spoke. The anger in his bright blue eyes when he was upset. His gentle nature. His desire to not kill, or injure but to only embarrass.
Victoria leaned into the softness of her bed and thought about the beautiful descriptions the author used when telling the story about what he had witnessed during his two week visit to Los Angeles.
Victoria could only imagine what kind of popularity would befall the masked bandit and the people that would come to the town just to see the man after this book became widely known.
Perhaps this would be the end of the alcalde's twisted rule over the pueblo. The more people that knew about Zorro's exploits and why he did what he did, the more people would come to stop the alcalde.
Perhaps the publishing of this book was just one step closer to her realizing her dream. A dream that had lasted for more then 5 years already. More then enough time. She was ready to settle down. She wanted a family. And she could think of no one else she would want to have a family with.
She squeezed the ring that had been given to her as a promise of their future, slid it onto her finger and stared at the gleam of the stone in the dim light.
"Well he's definitely not a poor man," she chuckled to herself and sat down to read some more of the book. She was almost done and she wanted to finish before she had to open the tavern again.
As she buried herself in the mattress, she heard her window creak and open. She gasped and was momentarily startled until she saw a black gloved hand pull the rest of the black clad body into the room.
"Zorro!" she could barely contain her excitement. She never saw enough of him, and when she did see him, it was usually for no more then a fleeting moment. Every moment alone with him was precious to her.
"Hola, preciosa," he smiled and took her hand to press a delicate kiss to the soft skin.
She blushed and he glanced down at the book in her hand. She was frozen in place as he took the volume from her and read the preface.
She noticed the look in his eyes as he read the text. Was it worry? Fright? Something that she had never seen before shown in his eyes but he masked it quickly and it was gone in an instant.
"What is it?" She asked as he lifted his head from the text.
"Oh nothing," he closed the book and let it fall to the bed," I remember the author when he visited our pueblo."
She stepped closer to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him.....
He pulled his head away slightly and she stared confused at him as he asked," Did he fulfill his promise and reveal the identity he left here saying that he had discovered?"
She smiled," Is that what is worrying you? That he has revealed your identity within these pages?"
"Not worry, bella," he bent to place a small kiss at the corner of her mouth," curiosity."
"Curiosity killed the cat...."
"Ah," he chuckled, "But cunning saves the fox."
She smiled and stared into the deep blue eyes that had been so accurately described in the novel. She couldn't help herself as she touched a finger to the neatly groomed mustache and quoted a few lines from the book...
"A man of position is this Zorro. A caballero he must be, for no man is so well groomed, smells so cleanly nor dresses with such flair and taste, or moves with such grace and tranquillity."
He silenced her with a deep, breathtaking kiss.
When his lips released hers, she continued, desperately trying not to be rattled by the fierceness of his kiss, "No man appears so ominous and yet so confident, with a tinge of arrogance, in the face of perilous danger....."
"Please..." he raised a hand and she stopped.
"Embarrassed Senor Zorro that such words could be written about you?" She smiled and took his black gloved hand in hers.
When he did not answer, she pulled the glove from his fingers and allowed it to drop to the floor. She continued where he had interrupted her, squeezing his hand, "hands so soft, bread on an easy life, no calluses as proof of hard labor." She slid her hand along his and she could feel him shudder with ... excitement, desire or fear, she could not tell. She continued anyway," long, slim fingers .." she took a deep breath and brought his hand to her lips to kiss his fingers.
He broke her embrace and turned his back to her. She leapt at his uneasiness and asked," Are you a caballero?"
"Is that what the novel says?" his voice was deep and she couldn't help but think that she had heard this voice before.
"It doesn't say. It implies..."
He turned around abruptly and asked," and what else does it imply?"
She was confused. "What's wrong? You seem disturbed."
"I want you to know my identity more then anything but I don't want you to find out from some book," he smiled slightly," an identity Moreno swore that he would keep secret but......"
"Hmm, " she nodded," you would have already been arrested and hung had the information in this book been anything more then one man's interpretation and description of your actions and features."
"What have you found interesting about it?"
She smiled," I have learned more about you and realize that I no longer want what the legend of Zorro has to give me. I want the man beneath, that has given up so much, endured so much, risked everything, to help the people by masking his identity and his life."
He smiled widely. "Do you mind if I read this?" he bent to retrieve the book.
"I haven't ..."
"Even unfinished?"
She smiled, " yes, take it. Read it and bring it back to me."
He kissed her briefly and moved toward the open window.
"If it reveals your identity in the end.....Bring it back to me without the mask..."
He smiled and nodded and disappeared into the darkening evening.
She smiled and realized that she was late opening the tavern and that she probably should have asked Maria to take care of the task for her.
She didn't see him again until two days later when he raced through the plaza to oppose one of the alcalde's new taxes. He effortlessly disarmed each lancer one by one and then charged the alcalde. A short battle ensued and the alcalde soon found himself eating sand for his mid-day meal.
As the people cheered, Zorro turned Tornado to face them and waved. He reached into his saddlebag and walked Tornado over to where Victoria stood at the front of the cheering crowd as always. He stretched out a black gloved hand toward her and she took the book from his outstretched hand.
"When there is no longer a need for this mask, querrida, then I will bring you a revised copy of this book. One that will reveal to you what you have craved for so long to know."
Lancers were gaining courage as Corporeal Sepulveda launched himself at Zorro and missed, striking Tornado with a hard thud and startling the horse.
The black stallion reared angrily and the people backed away.
"You've done it now Senor," Zorro warned," You've made him angry."
Tornado pawed at the sand in front of the fallen lancer's face, his hoofs mere inches from striking the man. Wide-eyed with fear the lancer stood and reached for his rifle.
"Ah, again our time must be short," Zorro said to Victoria as he blew her a kiss and raced off with his steed through the town gates.
No one noticed that DeSoto had stood and watched much of what had happened. He strode quickly over to Victoria and snatched the book from her hands.
"Hey!" Victoria screeched," That is not your property!"
"It is now." was all he said as he turned and strode back toward his office.
She took off after him and he called his lancers to restrain her.
"Any more outbursts, senorita, and you will be spending the night in my jail," DeSoto warned.
She huffed and screeched as he entered his office and shut the door," I want my property back!"
Three days later, DeSoto strode into the tavern and slammed the novel on the counter in front of Victoria.
"Didn't find what you wanted, did you?" she smiled, snatched the book and strode towards the kitchen.
"On the contrary, senorita," she stopped when he answered her. "I have found just how I am going to capture and unmask Zorro."
She turned around with a worried but amused look in her eyes.
"I doubt it alcalde."
"Oh but this book has given me the idea, "DeSoto smiled," The man is an author. Research is his specialty. I trust that every word he wrote is truth and I will use that to my advantage." he chuckled," the book is obviously new and most have not read it yet."
He turned to Mendoza who had just entered the tavern. "Mendoza!"
"Si, mi alcalde," He stopped and stood at attention.
"I want you to take the wagon, the lancers, and I want you to arrest every caballero in the pueblo."
Victoria's eyes widened, followed by Mendoza's.
"Alcalde..."
"Don't question me, just do it. I want all of the men in the quartel by sunset."
"Alcalde, you can't do that!" Victoria protested.
"Would you like to join them?" DeSoto asked calmly, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
She huffed, clutched her book, and asked Maria to watch over the tavern while she went upstairs to finish the novel. Zorro would prevent this new little scheme of the alcalde's, she was certain of it. She had to know what had given him the idea to arrest all the young caballeros in the pueblo.
Her eyes were wet when she finished the book. Shaking hands set the novel on the bed as she looked out the window onto the plaza streets below. The plaza was filled with people and the young caballeros that had been arrested for questioning by the alcalde. Her eyes searched the plaza for Zorro, hoping that he would come and free the men. Her heart knew, deep down, that he would be one of the men held for questioning and she quickly dried her eyes, straightened her dress and rushed down the stairs to watch, and protest, the proceedings.
"This is an outrage!" Victoria heard Alejandro say." How dare you arrest my son and all of these good men!"
Alejandro protested as Diego walked calmly in front of the lancers that positioned his rifle at his back.
"One of these *good* men is Zorro!" DeSoto spat," and I am going to find out which one of them and hang him at dawn!"
"The governor will hear of this!" Alejandro turned on his heal.
"Lancers!" DeSoto pointed to Alejandro," arrest that man."
Diego's eyes widened and he attempted to protest but was held back by the lancers and their rifles pointed at the imprisoned men.
"Leave my father out of this!" Diego called at the alcalde and Victoria's head snapped in Diego's direction. She stared at the anger in the handsome caballero's eyes and gasped. It couldn't be. Her trusted confidant. Her childhood friend. She shook her head and dismissed the notion.
Moreno's description of the masked man still fresh in her memory, she applied all of them to Diego and found, to her surprise, they matched quite perfectly. She chuckled. Diego couldn't be Zorro, there was no way. She would have known. She would have sensed it when they were together.
She shook her head. But what was it that the book had said?
"To mask his identity, Zorro would have to be two completely different men. Nothing could be the same about them."
Well, Diego was as different from Zorro as day was from night.
She shook the words out of her head and stared at the men being held by the alcalde's ruthless interrogator. She tried to put all of the traits and descriptions on every one of the caballero's in the plaza, but none fit more perfectly then Diego.
Victoria crept closer to listen .
As the lancers dragged the struggling Alejandro to the jail, the alcalde turned to a rather large, bulky man, standing beside him.
"You can start with these men.!" The alcalde sneered.
The large man smiled and walked toward the gathered prisoners. There were about 30 caballeros, between the ages of 18 and 45, there with their families protesting the unjust arrests and more were arriving every minute.
The 15 Royal Spanish lancers that had accompanied the stranger had erected a fencelike structure around the plaza to keep the men in. Each stood guard around, above and inside this structure, ready to shoot anyone who tried to exit or enter.
The large man stood on a platform before the men and faced the crowd as well as the bound caballeros.
"I am interrogator Luis Hidalgo, sent by the king to capture your outlaw bandit known as Zorro." The man stared at the gathered young caballeros, "I will ask you once .....Do you know who Zorro is? Are you Zorro?" I will give you five minutes to come up with an answer."
The murmurs from the gathered crowd were all that could be heard. Victoria found a frightened, wide-eyed Felipe standing near the fence and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She pulled him away from the fence and turned him to face her.
"You must tell me the truth," her eyes bored into his. She whispered, "is Diego Zorro?"
His eyes widened even further and he shook his head wildly, denying her words.
Felipe wrenched himself from her grasp and raced off toward home.
Victoria stared at his retreating back and narrowed her eyes, "Maybe Diego isn't Zorro, but Felipe does know who is."
"Which of you will come forth with this information?" Hidalgo asked. A few seconds later, he waved to a guard and the man brought a struggling caballero up to the interrogator.
The boy stood proudly until he was tied to a pole in the middle of the courtyard and whipped. His cried echoed around the plaza and the people cringed.
He was thrown at the other men's feet and another was chosen to take his place.
Victoria saw Diego rush to the beaten man's side carefully roll him over. She noticed the disgusted look on his face and the hatred in his eyes as he stared at the Spanish Interrogator.
A hand reached through the fence and handed him a wet rag to clean the wounds and Diego smiled slightly. He waved the young child away, lest she be caught and punished, and set to the task of cleaning the man's wounds.
"You there!" Hidalgo noticed Diego kneeling beside the fallen young caballero. He waved to his men to detain Diego and rushed off the platform to where the man was kneeling.
"What are you doing!" he wrenched the blood soaked rag from Diego's hand and threw it to the ground for all to see.
Diego stood cautiously and addressed the man," This is a human being and does not deserve to be punished like this without just cause." He seethed. His temper restrained only by the knowledge he could not defeat all of the interrogators guards and escape alive.
"Oh really?" Hidalgo chuckled, and nodded to the guard standing behind Diego.
The butt of his rifle came down hard on Diego's leg and the crowd gasped. Diego grasped his leg but did not fall to his knees until another swing of the rifle butt caught him in the knee.
Victoria gasped and wrapped slim fingers around the fence separating her from her childhood friend.
The guard brought his rifle up for one more swing when Alejandro's voice could be heard from where he had just raced from the jail.
"Leave my son be, if you must beat someone, take me in his place!" Alejandro stood beside Victoria outside the pen and stared at Hidalgo.
"Ah, sorry Senor but you are a little old to be Zorro, and I am going to beat the man out or all these fine young men will die a slow and painful death," Hidalgo nodded at his guard and the rifle butt came down towards Diego's head.
Victoria held her breath and Alejandro tried to jump the fence as they watched the rifle butt descend towards Diego's head. Amazingly though, Diego rolled from beneath it, caught it in mid-air and wrenched it from guard's grasp. The guard stared at him in surprise as two more took position behind the fallen caballero.
Diego struggled to stand on his injured leg and did not see the butt of another rifle until it struck him in the left temple and knocked him to the ground unconscious.
"No!" Alejandro was so angry he tried to go through the gate keeping him from his now injured son.
Hidalgo sighed,"Well, he has gotten himself out of a whipping this time." Hidalgo gave Diego a swift kick to the stomach, nodded to his guard to take another caballero for `questioning', and resumed his former position.
"We have to get them out of there!" Alejandro hissed as Victoria stared at his unconscious son.
As the sun descended behind the San Gabriel Mountains, there was no caballero left standing in the pen that had been created to keep them in. All of the men had been beaten and were in various forms of unconsciousness and pain.
A few large buckets of water were brought in, set in various locations around the pen, and the men that were not close to the pails had to crawl their way to the buckets to quench their thirst.
Diego had crawled his way to the fence that penned him and rested, his head throbbing in pain. As long as he pretended that he was unconscious, the guards would not come to him and beat him even more.
He was dizzy from being struck in the head and the pain in his left leg was numbing his body. He had to get out of the pen, but a clear thought would not form and he laid his head on his arm to get some more rest.
Not more then a few minutes later , he felt a cool gentle hand lifting his head and pouring water into his mouth. He lapped at the coolness as if that was the last he would receive in his lifetime but it stopped flowing and he opened his eyes slowly.
Darkness had descended on the pueblo and he couldn't see who had fed him the cool water.
"Shhh," Victoria's voice whispered to him as she reached a wet rag between the fence and put it in his hand," it will help keep fever away."
"Go," he whispered," before you are seen."
Her hand slid from his and caressed his cheek before it disappeared with the rest of her into the darkness.
"Te amo, preciosa," he whispered a little louder then perhaps he had intended and slipped back into a pain induced unconsciousness.
He didn't see her head snap back to look at him, nor did he see the confused look in her eyes as she stared deeply at his unconscious face.
As Victoria reached the tavern, she heard the familiar cracking of a whip. She turned, as did all the guards and lancers in the plaza, at the sound.
Firebombs, placed around the fence, exploded in a fiery, white light and the guards momentarily covered their eyes. The crackling of the whip continued to be heard as one after the other of the guards fell to the ground clutching various parts of their anatomy that the whip had stung.
"Zorro!" Mendoza cried as he, DeSoto and Hidalgo rushed out of the alcalde's office.
"You didn't have him after all!" DeSoto turned to Hidalgo.
"It appears not, but we will have him now!" Hidalgo rushed toward where he could see a black form standing in the white smoke generated from the bombs. He freed his sword from it's sheath and lunged into the smoke.
Seconds later a cry could be heard and Hidalgo emerged with a blood stained sword. Victoria rushed towards the smoke but was restrained by Alejandro as the older caballero's looked on from the tavern porch.
"We will wait for the best time to make our move." Alejandro whispered and Victoria turned to him, eyes filled with dread.
As the smoke cleared, Hidalgo , and the gathered crowd, were able to see just who his blade had struck....one of his own guards.
Zorro mounted his black stallion and raced off around the plaza and out the gates, staying around long enough to make sure everyone in the plaza saw him and realized that none of the caballeros held within the pen were the men that Hidalgo was looking for.
"After him!" Hidalgo howled and he reached for his mount and raced off, ahead of his own men, after the familiar black clad image.
Most of the caballero's in the pen had used their remaining strength to watch their hero draw the stranger's attention off them and onto himself. But then he had run, didn't stay to free them, he had run from the men and left them as prisoners.
"That wasn't him," Victoria said matter-of-factly.
"He never spoke," Alejandro offered, "So there is no way we would able to be sure.
"And I couldn't see him," Victoria's eyes searched for Diego behind the fence and she was surprised to find him leaning against it, his eyes wide open and looking down the path Zorro had just taken out of the pueblo.
The inhabitants of the pueblo were awakened early the next morning by the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Hidalgo and his men had returned, and trailing behind him was the infamous masked bandit. "Oh no," Victoria muttered and Alejandro's eyes widened. Victoria searched for Diego and found him standing, his knuckles white as they grasped the railing, his eyes wide with..was that fear?
"Hidalgo pulled Zorro from his horse , the black hat falling from his head as if it was too big, and pulled the man into the gated area with the rest of the caballeros.
"Here is your savior, caballeros!" Hidalgo smiled, dragging the masked man to his platform and turning him to face those gathered in the plaza.
"I want to know which of you knows this man!" he ripped the mask from the man's head and a large gasp from the crowd followed .
"It can't be," Alejandro whispered.
"It isn't," Victoria stared at Felipe, his eyes frightened as they searched the crowd of onlookers. Victoria followed Felipe's eyes as they came to rest on his friend and patron. Diego was pale, and not just from the beating he had taken few hours before.
Alejandro followed Victoria's gaze and stared at his son. "Madre de dios." he whispered.
"Felipe!" DeSoto hissed, turning to Hidalgo," this is impossible! This boy cannot even speak. And we have heard Zorro speak many times."
Hidalgo turned to Felipe, "Is this true boy?" Hidalgo slapped his face when he didn't answer.
"De la Vega," DeSoto whispered, his head turning to find Diego limping slowly towards them.
"I think, Hidalgo," DeSoto stared at his former schoolmate, "that we are about to find out who the real Zorro is."
Diego's eyes were hard as they stared at Hidalgo and DeSoto.
Mendoza stepped back, unwilling to get in the way, afraid that something bad was going to happen. He could see the look in Diego's eyes and he had never seen such anger in the normally peaceful gaze before.
"Let me guess," DeSoto smiled, as Diego limped to the front of the assembled caballeros," Senor Zorro, I presume."
"How perceptive of you, alcalde," Diego glared, then turned his head toward Hidalgo, "release the boy. He is obviously delusional."
"I doubt it de la vega!" DeSoto hissed, stepping from the platform toward Diego," I think he is an accomplice and will hang beside you ."
"I think it's now or never, amigos," Alejandro turned to his friends and drew his sword. He pushed a startled Victoria behind him and warned her to stay in place.
"Just like we planned, amigos," Alejandro started towards the fence and his friends made their way around the rest of the guards, positioning themselves to strike.
DeSoto unsheathed his blade and lunged at Diego, who quickly leapt out of the way, just as the gathered caballero's drew their blades and begun the surprise attack on Hidalgo's men.
"What!?" Hidalgo drew his own weapon and advanced on the approaching men," Fire at will! Fire at will!" He ordered his lancers and the young imprisoned caballeros advanced quickly on those guards who were behind the fence with them, preventing them from hitting their advancing liberators.
Rifle blasts and the clash of steel on steel was all that could be heard as the women and children took refuge behind anything that they thought would keep them safe.
Lancers, royal guards and caballero's alike fell, causing a river of blood to mingle with the clear brown sand of the plaza.
Unable to find a saber, Diego fought with his fists until has father took the life of the man he was fighting and threw the blade that was in his hand to his son.
"Father?" Diego questioned, but was silenced by guard rushing up behind his father. "Down!" Diego rushed towards his father, throwing him out of the way, and parried the attack with quick expertise.
As his father regained his balance, he stared at his son and the swiftness with which he disarmed his opponent and knocked him unconscious with a strong right hook. DeSoto and Mendoza raced toward the office and bolted the door behind them.
Finally Hidalgo was the only man left standing and he stared at the revolution that had taken place before him.
"You will all hang for this !" he screeched.
The fence had been trampled by the advancing and retreating men until it lay in pieces in the sand. There were few who had no injuries and the women immediately slid from their hiding places and raced to help their loved ones.
The caballeros advanced on the man and he was brought down quickly as Diego and Alejandro turned away, wishing to take no part in the slaughter.
They, instead, knelt beside some fallen comrades and checked their bodies for life.
Diego looked up and saw a very tired Felipe and the tear-stained face of the woman he loved racing towards them.
Diego clasped his father on the shoulder and stood, closing the distance between the three of them in a heartbeat. Alejandro not more then a step behind.
Diego embraced Felipe tightly as Alejandro did with Victoria.
"That was a dangerous thing you did Felipe," Diego said, planting a kiss on the boy's forehead, "You could have been killed."
Felipe bowed his head as Victoria broke Alejandro's embrace and placed a soft hand on Diego's arm. "He did it for you. To save your life."
Diego stared into her dancing eyes , released Felipe, and enveloped her in a strong, tight embrace. Alejandro rested a hand on Felipe's shoulder and stared at the couple.
"Say it again," Victoria whimpered into his chest.
He pulled away and stared into her beautiful brown eyes," Say what?"
She knew! Somehow she had been able to put everything together and he decided that now was not the time to hold back. Now was the time for no more secrets.
She lowered her head in embarrassment and he smiled.
"That I love you with all my heart and want you to be my wife?" he lifted her head with his finger," is that what you want me to say?"
She sobbed, the tears flowing freely down her face once again, "I want to collect on the promise you made to me."
Alejandro listened to the conversation with great interest. Somehow he knew his life was going to be vastly different after this day. Diego turned to survey the damage and loss of life the pueblo had suffered and then looked at his family," we have a lot to rebuild , but we can do it. We can re-build a stronger, peaceful pueblo. Then we," he turned to Victoria, lifted her head to his, "can live in the peace that we have been struggling to obtain so long."
She smiled and nodded as his lips descended onto hers for the beginning of one fiery and passionate kiss.
Years later
He held the little babe in his arms, cradling the head in the crook of his arm, whispering lightly.
He smiled and looked up as his wife as she knelt beside him and brushed the babes dark hair away from his eyes.
Diego held the novel up in the dim light and read the last passage of text in the book that had begun the events that enabled him to have the life and happiness he now had.
'Zorro lives in every man, woman and child that opposes the tyranny and injustice in this
world.'
'As long as one person stands up for his freedom, then Zorro will never die.'
'He will live on in our hearts and deeds for generations to come.'
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