Revelation
(What might have happened if Zorro had revealed his identity in the episode An Affair to Remember? The following is just one of the many possibilities.)
"Don't I have the right to know the man behind the mask?" She asked.
"The man behind this mask is afraid of only one thing in this world. " Zorro moved to the mirror. Staring at himself through the mask. Staring at the man he had become. He turned to her, trying to make her understand his true fear. "That you love a man with whom he cannot possibly compete." He held his hands out towards her uncertainly. " That if this mask was removed you would still be in love with Zorro and not with the man of flesh and blood." He knelt before her. Looking, searching for one more reason, the one last incentive to do what he had dreamed of doing for five years.
Their romantic dinner, their heartwarming conversation throughout the evening only hastened his decision to tell her. It couldn't be a more perfect time to reveal his identity to the woman he loved most in this world.
"I've never known this man of flesh and blood." Victoria shook her head. She had to make him clearly understand that his fears were unfounded. " But I do know this." She took his hands with her own and squeezed them reassuringly. "The courage and the passion that lives in Zorro's heart also lives in his. Share your secret with me." She could almost feel like she was pleading with him. In a way she was and she decided that maybe this would be the only way to make him understand that she didn't care who he was behind the mask. That she would love him regardless.
"Very well, Victoria." He breathed, his heart beating rapidly. He had just received that last incentive. "You shall know."
Victoria held her breath as he lowered his head and slid his hands to the tie of the mask that had kept them apart for so long.
The silence in the room was nerve wracking. The only noise that could be heard in the darkened room were the sound of their breathing and satin on satin as he slowly untied the mask.
Victoria pressed a hand to her breast to still the pounding of her heart as the mask slid slowly down his face.
His eyes were the first to appear and they immediately locked with hers. The mask finally revealed the rest of his handsome features and he held it tightly as he rested his hands uncertainly against her leg, clutching tightly at the mask.
His heart was pounding as he watched expressions of disbelief and shock play across her beautiful features.
Her mouth moved but no words came out as she shook her head, her eyes struggling to take in his remarkable revelation.
"It can't be." Her words were a strangled whisper.
He struggled to form the right words. His mind couldn't focus on anything beyond the beating of his own heart as he watched the woman he loved begin to cope with the identity of her masked hero.
She shook her head slowly. Her eyes began to glisten with tears and he reached a trembling hand up to wipe them away.
"Why?" Her voice was still a whisper. "How? I don't understand." Her voice began to crack and he shook his head, his eyes as tender and comforting as they had always been.
Today, she did not take comfort in that gaze. She was furious.
As he opened his mouth to speak, she ripped her hands from where he held them softly. She pushed against his chest, nearly knocking him over from where he knelt beside her. She was shaking with rage and hurt and she looked around the cave for some hint that this could really be happening.
She tried to stand but the pain in her ankle was too great and she sunk into the chair once again.
"You must have just loved this little deception!" She was angry now and her voice no longer cracked with the hurt and pain she had felt not moments before. " Did you take great pleasure in playing this little game with my heart and emotions!" The only outlet she had for her rage was to curl her hands into little balls and pound them against his chest.
Tears slipped down her cheeks when he no longer had the courage to try to wipe them away. He closed his eyes as she beat against his chest. As if closing his eyes would take away all of the pain he was feeling at her rejection. The one thing that he had feared would happen in revealing his identity and it had. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to take away his pain and her feelings of being used.
Her scathing words cut him like tiny daggers and he swayed the verbal outlash.
He did the one thing that he had always done when he was uncertain of what to say - these times usually came when he was in her company. It had always worked in the past and he pushed to the back of his mind the fact that it may not work now.
He grasped her hands softly, but holding them tight enough so that she could not pull them free.
When he opened his eyes again to stare into her enraged gaze, a tear slipped from the corner of his eye and slid down his cheek. All he could do was lean into her and press a kiss to parted lips. He didn't know what else to do and he held her tightly as she tried at first to push away and then, as she sobbed against his lips, lost the desire to resist and melted into his arms.
This was the man whose lips she had tasted countless times before. She just could not get over the shock of just whose face these lips were attached to.
He released her hands and wrapped his own around her head to pull her closer, deepening the kiss.
She continued to sob but wrapped her slim fingers around his forearms as his lips moved so gently over hers like they had done so many times before.
A small bell began to chime and for a moment he ignored it until he realized that it was the warning bell outside the cave.
He pulled away quickly and shot a quick glance toward the cave entrance. He noticed that it was no longer dark but that a steady stream of light was shining where it had been darkness moments before.
"The alarm." He turned back to her a worried look in his eyes. "The warning bell. Someone is at the cave entrance."
Victoria's eyes narrowed and she turned her head to follow where his eyes had been when she heard them.
Diego lifted Victoria easily into his arms and raced up the steps.
Victoria looked around the small room as he set her on her feet. This was where he had come from and left by earlier in the evening but there was no visible entrance. Her eyes were glued to his face as the reality of his position and identity seeped into her senses.
"Can you stand?" He asked.
"If I have to." Victoria frowned, balancing her weight on her good foot. What was he doing? This small room was not concealed well enough to keep those bandits from finding them.
She watched as he replaced the mask with practiced precision and took her hand. He placed it on the lever that would open the secret door and whispered. " If I do not come back here or if you see them, pull this and a door will open behind you. Go through it and find Felipe. Tell him what has happened."
"What?" She shook her head. None of this was making sense. A secret door? Tell Felipe? If he didn't come back!? "No." She whispered, grasping his hand as he turned away. " Don't go. I don't understand..."
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. The words he had thought long and hard over in the past, had such difficulty voicing, slipped between his lips as if he had been saying them all his life. " I love you, Victoria. Please never doubt that."
He turned and sprinted down the stairs leaving her standing there alone, her jumbled emotions threatening to drive her mad. She took a closer look around the room and realized that there must be an entrance to the hacienda hidden here. She was about to investigate a little closer when she heard the clash of swords at the bottom of the stairs.
Her heart skipped a few beats as she heard the commotion around the corner. She sobbed back a few tears and pressed herself as far away from the steps as she could.
She could hear the bandits yelling and the sounds of glass as it shattered on the stone floor. All of the experiments on the tables impacted with the stone floor and she shuddered at the thought of what the cave would look like when all was done.
She had no fear that Zorro could handle the banditos. But, Diego? Could Diego take care of them as well as....? Wait a minute! What was she thinking!? Diego was Zorro and he could do anything.
After a few minutes, when she heard no sounds from the cave, she pulled herself away, slid along the side of the wall and peered around the corner.
Unconscious bodies lay strewn around the room as her eyes came to rest on the masked man who had the last bandito pressed against the wall.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement on the floor. As she turned her head to get a better look, she noticed a bandito quickly and quietly picking himself off the floor.
As Victoria shouted a warning, the bandito picked up his fallen sword and thrust it into the masked man's back.
"No!" Victoria screamed as Zorro released the man he had been holding and landed a right hook squarely against the man's jaw, dropping him to the ground unconscious. He grasped the injured area with a muffled groan. He whirled around with what strength he had left and thrust his blade into the shocked bandito's chest as his attention wavered toward Victoria.
Zorro stumbled and sank to the floor, dropping the sword so that he could grasp the wall and slow his descent.
Victoria leapt off the top of the steps, concern for her broken ankle momentarily forgotten, and wrapped her arms around Zorro's waist, helping him slide to the floor.
"Go, get....Felipe." Zorro whispered through gritted teeth, pressing his hand into his wound to slow the bleeding.
"But..." Victoria shook her head.
"Quickly!" He implored. His voice cracking with the pain in his side. "Need to get them out......" He indicated the banditos.
"I'm more worried about you at the moment." She tried to search for the source of his wound but he grunted and pushed her away.
She stood, tears beginning to form in her eyes again, and launched herself toward where she thought the secret entrance was.
As she pulled the lever, she was startled to see a small door open. She stepped through it quickly and began calling for Felipe and Alejandro.
As Felipe rounded the corner, and Alejandro came in from the outside, Victoria noticed that she was covered in blood.
Felipe's eyes widened and Alejandro rushed over to her and tried to push her into a seat.
"Victoria? What happened?" Alejandro couldn't remember Victoria being at the hacienda. Maybe she had come with Diego.
"Zorro!" She breathed and pointed toward the fireplace she had just come from.
Felipe's eyes widened.
"He's hurt! Please!" She breathed. "Banditos."
"Where?!" Alejandro looked around. He had just come from outside and there was no one out of the ordinary there.
She shot a look at Felipe. "You know, don't you? Please, you have to help him!" She got to her feet, grimacing in pain as she quickly shifted her weight to her uninjured ankle.
Once she reached the fireplace, she turned to send a pleading look at Felipe.
Alejandro could not help but think the woman had gone mad. If she was not hurt from all that blood loss, then maybe the injury was making her delusional.
As if sensing Alejandro's question, she shouted." It's not my blood!"
Felipe nodded and, trusting his instincts that something bad had indeed happened in the cave, reached past her and pressed the hidden lever. The door opened and Victoria rushed through, Felipe following immediately.
Alejandro stood for a moment in disbelief before following them. How could he have not known about an old passageway in his own home?
Felipe's eyes scanned the cave until the came to rest on his friend as he lay against a far wall.
"Felipe." Zorro began, pushing his friend away with what strength he had. " You have to get them out of here."
Felipe looked around at the banditos lying around the floor and his breath caught in his throat. Victoria limped over to where Zorro lay and slid down, her ankle unable to support her weight any longer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his head to rest against her chest.
He took a deep breath. His strength and the ability to stay conscious was rapidly depleting but he needed to make sure his family was safe.
Felipe nodded and implored to Alejandro that he help with the banditos. The older de la Vega's eyes widened when he noticed Zorro lying in Victoria's arms and he rushed to help Felipe with the banditos.
They all turned at the sound of a snort as Tornado, sensing the danger, stepped into the laboratory.
"Felipe." Alejandro called. "Lets lift these banditos onto his back and see if we can get him to carry them away."
Felipe nodded and blindfolded two of the banditos as they lifted them onto the stallions back, and he carried them outside.
Felipe quickly fetched a carriage and they, with Miguel's help, laid the unconscious men in the back of it.
"This man is dead." Alejandro commented as he turned the man, who had wounded Zorro, over onto his back.
Felipe signed that the man whom he tried to move was dead as well. He had a large gash to his head. He had apparently struck it hard when he fell.
They left them and pulled the other two who were still alive, onto Tornado's back and Felipe led the stallion to where the wagon was waiting for them.
"What are we going to do with them?" Alejandro muttered. He turned to Miguel and instructed the farm hand to tie them to each other and the wagon, keep them blindfolded, and leave the wagon in one of the de la Vega barns.
When he turned to ask Felipe a question, he was gone and Alejandro returned to the hacienda.
Alejandro almost ran over Victoria, who was returning from the kitchen with towels and a basin of water, and he reached out to steady her.
Felipe had just laid Zorro in Diego's bed when Victoria and Alejandro returned. The man was immediately unconscious after using the remainder of his strength to get himself out of the cave and into the soft cushions of his bed.
When Miguel returned, Victoria thanked the young man and instructed him to stand watch over the banditos and to not let anyone else know what was going on.
Alejandro watched the young woman limp over to the man in black and begin to remove his shirt. She shivered when she noticed that the wound was still oozing blood. He had lost a lot of blood already and she was worried as she gazed at the unconscious man's pale face.
"Felipe." The young woman turned to the frightened boy. " Please go get Dr. Hernandez. Quickly! I don't know what I can do for an injury like this."
Felipe hesitated for a minute but the frightened look in Victoria's eyes hastened his steps.
Victoria shot one quick look at Alejandro before she reached for the mask.
Alejandro's eyes widened at her bold act. He didn't believe Zorro would appreciate being unmasked while being so gravely injured. He didn't know what had happened or how Victoria had come to be involved in today's activities. Or, for that matter, how Zorro's hideout happened to be inside his hacienda!
The thought never crossed his mind that it would be his own son that lay beneath the mask until Victoria pulled it from his face.
"Dios." Alejandro sunk into a nearby chair, his mind reeling at the sight before him.
Victoria cleaned and covered the wound as best she could and then tried to remove the blood stained shirt. She could not remove it on her own and Alejandro stood, quickly and lifted his son's shoulders so that she could pull the stained shirt from beneath him.
She dropped it onto the floor and pulled the blanket to up to his neck. She felt his forehead and became immediately concerned as the heat seeped into her cool skin.
Her task complete, she sunk into a nearby chair and pulled it to the bedside so that she could hold his hand. Her ankle was throbbing and she blinked back the tears as they threatened to spill down her cheeks. She had cleaned and bandaged the wound but she was unsure as to how deep it was. It had bleed profusely and that was the first indication that the cut was deep.
Her shoulders shook as she sobbed and Alejandro rushed pulling her tightly against him.
"I don't know how I couldn't have known." She choked, shaking her head.
Alejandro pulled a tissue out of his jacket and held it out to the sobbing woman. "Dry your tears, my child."
She thought back to what had happened as she pushed him to reveal his identity. She remembered her reaction to his revelation and was disgusted with herself. How could she have treated him this way? Didn't she realize that while she was separated from him by his secret, he was also separated from her? He had to hide his feelings from her every day?
Everything came slamming into her mind with a clarity she could only wish she had had earlier in the cave. She pulled away from Alejandro and laid her head on the pillow next to Diego's. Her hand caressed his warm cheek as she turned her head to brush a light kiss against a burning cheek.
"If he dies, I will never forgive myself." Victoria whispered.
She stared at Diego's closed eyes and brushed her hand against his hair, forehead, the dark eyelashes, nose, mustache and finally turned her head to press a kiss to his parted lips. Her tears dripped onto his face, the salty drops cooling the skin.
Days passed and Diego did not awake. The doctor had visited several times a day to check on his patient but there had been no change.
Diego's fever raged and the doctor did everything possible to make his patient comfortable.
In those days, Victoria explained what had happened and how the events that had led to Diego's injury came to be.
To keep themselves occupied, one kept a constant vigil at Diego's bedside and the others would step into the secret cave and clean it, keep Tornado company, or read one of the many journals that young Don had kept of his adventures.
He was floating on waves of blackness. He couldn't see clearly, He couldn't hear. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened and he didn't know where he was.
All he had was a feeling of rejection and utter depression. As he searched the depths of his memories, it became clear why he felt the way he did. Victoria's disgust with learning who the real man behind her hero's mask was more painful than a knife in the back.
He re-played her reaction over and over in his mind, trying to find some reason or explanation for her behavior. He found nothing and that just disheartened him more. If there was no goal to strive for in his identity as Zorro, if there was nothing waiting for him at the other end of the hard road. It wasn't worth the struggle.
The knife twisted and churned in his heart until he cried out from the pain. It was not an audible cry but a cry from the heart and soul of a man who had given everything to help his people in hopes that one day he would be able to live the life he had always dreamed with the woman he loved.
Now even that reality was sinking into the blackness that enveloped his mind and body.
He could find nothing in his memories to live for. There was nothing important about his life any longer.
As he gave up the will to live, he could see a light at the end of the dark tunnel that was his mind.
He could see a beautiful woman, enveloped in sunlight, her long, dark hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back like waves in a tempest-tossed sea.
He reached his hand out to grasp her, but always fell short. He could not see her face, the sunlight was too bright. But he could hear her voice. It whispered to him, like a lovers caress, in his mind. He was soothed by it's warmth, by it's softness.
'It is not your time. Go back to her. She needs you.'
'She doesn't want me!' He cried. Now he was being rejected by a woman he didn't even know, but felt that he should. He didn't know how much more pain his heart could take.
'She does. Give her a chance.' The voice became faint as the wind whipped around her, drowning out her voice.
'Please!' He called.' Don't go! Who are you? Where am I? What is happening?'
'You have to choose.' The voice was barely audible now as the light faded from view and she was gone. He could no longer see her but he could feel the resonance of the energy she had left behind. Energy that he only need grasp and hold for the strength to return home.
Darkness descended around his mind again but his heart felt free. He felt alive again. He would face whatever obstacles necessary to win back the love and trust of the woman he had risked everything for.
After four days had passed, Victoria was bringing some broth to feed Diego when the young man's eyes slowly opened.
Victoria nearly dropped the tray and set it down quickly before it spilled.
"Diego!" She cried, the excitement almost too much for her to contain. She sat on the bed beside him and brushed away a lock of dark hair that had fallen into his eyes. She bent and pressed a kiss to his forehead and rested her lips there, as if silently thanking god that he had finally awoken.
"Victoria?" He blinked, trying to focus his eyes. He was uncertain where he was or what had happened. All he could remember was a strange dream and a woman imploring him to go back. Go back to what?
"Yes." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. "We were all so worried about you. Your fever wouldn't break no matter what the doctor did."
"All I can remember is...." His eyes began to focus on her excited features. He lowered his gaze when he remembered her reaction to him when he had removed the mask.
She caught his unsaid words and took his head in her hands and pressed a gentle, shy kiss to his parted lips.
Diego's eyes widened and he struggled to find the right words.
"Diego, I am so sorry for what happened." Victoria's eyes pleaded with him to forgive her. "I never even thought that my masked hero could be my best friend. Can you forgive me for my ignorance?"
Diego's breath caught in his throat. "I can forgive you of anything."
A lone tear escaped her eye and he reached forward to wipe it away.
Alejandro and Felipe found them, several hours later, wrapped in one another's arms, sleeping away the day in a contented slumber.
That evening, Diego was sitting outside staring out into the open valley of hills and tumbleweeds. The de la Vega land encompassed thousands of acres as far as the eye could see.
He could sense a form approaching and smiled. When a soft blanket surrounded his shoulders, he reached up and caught her hands in his, bringing them to his lips.
He could feel her hot breath in his ear as he caressed her hands. It warmed him like nothing else.
She pulled her hands out of his gentle grasp, far too soon for his taste, and began rubbing his back. The muscles there were tense and sore from lying in bed and she wanted to relax him.
"You know if you keep doing that, there are going to be a few more problems then what to do about your new discovery?" There was a twinkle in his eyes that she could not see and when she did not immediately respond, he regretted saying something so bold.
"And what might those be?" She moved to stand in front of him and he pulled the blanket tighter around him so she didn't get a first hand view of the reaction he was having to her gentle touch.
Normally he could control himself and his body. The years of necessary restraint, burned into his body like a tattoo. But the knowledge and her acceptance of his secret shattered that ability.
She, herself, was feeling playful tonight and was just as determined to torture him as he was her.
He changed the subject to one he felt was more appropriate. "What are we going to do? No one knows Zorro's identity but you and my father. Although, I think Dr. Hernandez has been able to guess by all the secrecy surrounding this hacienda in the last week. I...."
She leaned forward to slide her fingers through his thick, dark hair and he sighed. She was doing her best to distract him and it was working. He didn't know if she just didn't want to deal with the important decisions that would have to be made regarding their relationship or if she just wanted to torture him tonight.
He took her hands and held them, his eyes warning her to stop. "We need to decide how we are going to proceed with..."
She slipped her hands from his, bent over him, wrapped her fingers around his neck and pulled his face to hers for a deep, penetrating kiss.
He gave up, for the moment, and held her tightly, careful not to turn in a way his injury would object to.
"Victoria we need to..."
"I'm afraid that we will come to a decision that neither of us will like." She moved to sit beside him and leaned back in his arms.
This motion gave him a very pleasant view right down the front of her blouse and he couldn't keep his eyes from gravitating from the sight.
She noticed his eyes and chuckled, causing him to look away. She reached up and caressed his cheeks, sliding her hands to his lips.
"I think we can come up with something." He smiled playfully. "I don't plan to give up my fight against the tyranny of this pueblo, but I also don't plan to give you up either."
She nodded as he kissed the fingers as they danced across his lips.
"Zorro is a very public figure." Diego admitted with a sigh. "But Diego," He smiled and lifted her, "Is a very private man and has a very private life."
He reached for her and as his hands slid along her neck to caress the soft skin there, she sighed. He rubbed her neck lightly and leaned forward, slowly closing the distance between them. As she opened her lips to taste his, he diverted his head and his lips found a sensitive spot on her neck.
She closed her eyes and shivered, her hands sliding behind his head to play with the strands of dark, hair that fell over his collar.
As his lips kissed and caressed the soft skin, she barely heard him whisper." I think we can keep our relationship private for the time being."
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