What had he also said? That he would tell this woman one day? Similar to what Zorro had told her up until last night. One day they would be together, he promised.
As soon as dinner was cleared from the tables, everyone gathered around the piano and began to sing one of the popular folk songs. The time was well past midnight, but as the popular song explained; 'Esta noche es Noche-Buena, Y no es noche de dormir'. This is the goodnight, therefore it is not meant for sleep.
Victoria mouthed the words to the music but could only stare at the fingers depressing the piano keys. The smile as he played the notes to perfection. Sang the hymn along with the others. Victoria was shaken to the very core of her being but pushed the feelings aside as she was swept up in the euphoria of the afternoon, the melody, the friends gathered to celebrate La Navidad.
A cheer went up as the song ended and everyone took a sip of their fresh eggnog.
Felipe signed to Diego and he smiled. "Yes Felipe, let's open the gifts that have been generously given."
Victoria frowned at Alejandro. He had tried to tell her that gifts were not necessary but there had obviously been gifts purchased for the day and he would have been rude not to accept them.
Times certainly were changing. Gifts were not normally given on this day, but some families were starting to adopt different customs and, apparently, the de la Vegas were one of those families.
The gift opening did not take long as there were not many people present at this small gathering. Just a few of the de la Vega’s close friends who had no real families to speak of.
Victoria began to unwrap the gift from Diego and Alejandro, which had been purposely left for last .
Alejandro smiled as she opened the gift. It was quite large and he wondered what his son had purchased for the young woman. He had left the task up to his son this year at the young man's insistence and decided to trust his son's judgment. Though he didn't know why. What experience could his son have purchasing gifts for a women?
Alejandro's eyes widened as Victoria lifted the garment from the box and held it to her chest.
"Alejandro, Diego, I..." She was speechless, something rarely seen in Victoria.
It was a beautiful traveling cloak of dark red velvet and lined with silk. Something so rarely seen in the pueblo that all gathered wondered where the de la Vega's could have gotten something to fine and precious.
"From Santa Barbara the last time I was there," Diego whispered to his father," I had it made for her. I knew her height and the seamstress was one praised for not having to fit an article of clothing."
No one thought the gift was out of the ordinary.
Usually articles of clothing were only given to family by another family member, but Alejandro had been considered to be Victoria's foster father now that her real father no longer lived. Alejandro nodded his approval and smiled at his son. "Hmm, perhaps you know a little more about these things then I gave you credit for."
"What things father?" Diego smiled innocently and his father gave him a sour look.
Felipe signed that that was the last gift until Diego noticed two ornately carved statues, under the table the gifts had been sitting on, that he had never seen before.
He reached for the female angel holding a painted rose, it looked ethereal, and read the inscription carved into the bottom.
It read: 'To Victoria. Open your heart and listen to it’s message....'
It was not signed and Diego immediately handed it over to Victoria.
Felipe had reached for the other and immediately handed it to Diego upon seeing his name inscribed on the bottom.
The statue was in the form of an angel wielding a saber in a saluted position and in his other arm a closed book. Diego's eyes narrowed as he read the tag: 'To Diego. You will be rewarded for the sacrifices you have made. Look into your heart and you will know when the time is right.'
He turned the statue over and looked around it. It appeared to be solid but weighed very little for such a large carved object. Both were as large as a small puppy and there was no hint as to where they had come from.
Diego and Victoria exchanged confused looks and searched the crowd for the person who had deposited the gifts.
"Well it looks like we have our first mystery for the evening," Diego smiled, masking his confusion and dislike for this strange occurrence.
Victoria was still staring at the statue as Diego shifted his gaze towards her. He could see the confusion in her eyes and something else that she was desperately trying to cover.... A look of pain and discomfort. "Victoria?" Diego knelt beside her, resting a hand casually on her arm.
"My mother used to give me a small carved angel every year when I was a child." She choked. "It became a symbol of god's love. The angel would be different each year no matter how poor we were. She would always tell me that whenever I was sad to open my mouth and sing and that would free my heart from it's sadness."
She stared into Diego's bottomless blue eyes. "I can't help but think this is some sort of gift from her."
Diego smiled, remembering what the note had been on the statue that he had received. He had struggled long and hard with his secret identity and he had finally resolved to reveal himself to the woman he loved.
He understood the message but not who could have possibly written it.
Perhaps it was divine intervention......
Then he remembered back to when he and his mother used to decorate their hacienda for the holidays. He used to write little notes and put them on the on the table for the kings, hoping that his wish would be granted, and when he would awake in the morning they would be gone. He always assumed his parents had taken them until his mother died. After then, he stopped writing those notes when his holiday wish did not come true..
He also remembered his mother's fascination with anything in the form of an angel. He would always sit on her lap outside watching the clouds and she would point out the shapes that they made in their fluffy whiteness. But the shape that she almost always recognized was that of an angel.
Remorse filled his heart as he thought of his mother and how he missed her.
Victoria saw this change in Diego’s disposition and reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Do you know what this means?" She asked quietly, suddenly afraid of the answer.
"I have no idea, Victoria." Diego muttered sadly.
A few days later Zorro was again chasing bandits across the countryside. Carefully avoiding
the lancers chasing those same bandits, he ran Tornado across the deep gorge he consistently used to distance himself from the annoying troops. Soon it became quiet and Zorro could no longer hear hoof beats of the escaping bandits. Even Zorro had his doubts that these were bandits. Probably just some poor farmers that the alcalde wanted to make examples of since his jail had been burned to the ground and the perpetrators had not been found yet.
Zorro leaned over to inspect the hoof prints made in the dirt and smiled. The tracks led into a stream so that their trail would be harder to follow.
It did not take long to find where their tracks exited the water and he followed them to a small home about a mile from the river.
Two children playing in the front of the home jumped wildly when they saw the masked man approach. "Zorro!" The little boy said, his eyes wide with admiration.
"Mama!" The little girl cried as she stared at the large man on the even larger horse.
Zorro dismounted in an effort the spare the children more fright as a young woman exited the home and ran towards them.
"Zorro to what do we owe this pleasure?" She asked.
"I have been following some bandits and their tracks lead through here." Zorro smiled at her, but kept his guard up. Something was not right here. The woman was hiding something.
The woman's husband emerged slowly from the house, followed by another man. They were armed with only pitchforks .
Zorro followed them with his eyes as the woman gathered her children behind her and preceded to back away.
"Please Señor Zorro, my husband has done nothing wrong."
"Why are you running from the lancers, Señores?" Zorro asked the men as they approached.
"I will not allow you to take us any where near that jail," The younger of the two men seethed.
Zorro smiled. "I rarely help the alcalde prosecute innocent men. I am here to discover the truth and that is all."
"He is trying to jail us for setting the fire in the jail the other night." The woman's husband offered. "We were in the jail for our inability to pay our taxes, but we did not set the fire."
Zorro nodded. "I thought as much. Do you know who did set the fire?"
"No, we were the only ones in the jail and then all of a sudden there was a fire in the other cell. Our cell door opened and we ran out. I don’t know who did it, but we were not going to sit there and die in the fire."
Zorro eyed them suspiciously.
"I swear to you Señor, we did not start the fire!"
Zorro held up his hand to silence the man as the lancers approached. "I believe you."
Sounds of hoof beats silenced the conversation as Mendoza pulled his steed to a rough halt and ordered," Zorro stand aside. Señor Jalisco you are under arrest."
"Sergeant you do not want to do this." Zorro warned, pulling his saber from its sheath. "These men did not set the fire."
He shot a quick look at the woman and her children, at the rags they wore, the shoeless feet, their dirt covered faces.
He reached into his belt, withdrew a few coins and tossed them at the sergeant. "For their taxes. Now leave this family to their holiday celebrations."
"Zorro! I cannot...." Mendoza began as he retrieved the coins from the dust covered ground.
"You can and will Mendoza, don't make me force the issue." Zorro saluted quickly and with one sweep of his saber, cut the saddle cinches of an advancing lancer. The man wailed all the way to the ground and sat there stunned as another lancer advanced on horseback towards the masked man.
Zorro stepped aside at the last minute and completed the same move that he had used on the previous lancer.
Two more lancers dismounted their horses and advanced on the masked man, their swords drawn and at the ready.
"Mendoza, haven't you learned by now." He parried the first lancers clumsy lunge and twisted his blade around the saber of the other lancer, binding it, and flicked his wrist quickly, disarming the man. "You are never going to catch me."
"Sí Zorro, but we have to try."
A quick right hook to the face of the other lancer, whose blade he parried, sent the man sprawling into the sand. He quickly carved a Z into the upturned backside of the fallen lancer and turned to the family watching in complete awe.
Zorro let out a shrill whistle and his faithful stallion came running. He mounted the steed with a powerful swing onto his back and saluted before sheathing his blade.
"Do not unjustly arrest these men again, Sergeant, or you will all be walking home next time." With that steered his steed away and smiled as he heard Mendoza order his lancers into the saddle to give chase.
Back in his laboratory, Diego was lost in one of his books researching how the fire could have started spontaneously. That had been remarkable. Something must have happened to cause a spark to ignite, and he needed to find out what it was. He knew the alcalde would not leave that poor family alone until he had a scapegoat he could punish for the cause of the fire.
New Years was approaching and he also wanted to spend some quality time with Victoria. It was becoming harder to visit her and leave again only to see her the next day as Diego and not see the same loving gaze that she bestowed upon his alter ego.
That was one thing he always managed to do. See Victoria daily whether as Zorro or Diego.
Some comfort that was to see the woman but not be able to reveal his secret and tell her of his love and devotion.
He looked at the wrapped box sitting on his desk and smiled. He lifted the cover and pulled out the silk shawl, his hands sliding over it's smoothness. A smoothness rivaled only by that of Victoria's skin.
"This will match her other Christmas gifts."
He set his book aside and stood. "I have to see her tonight." He said as he donned the familiar black clothing.
As Felipe arrived with a tray of food, Diego was about to mount Tornado. "Oh Felipe can you have a place setting for two tonight on my desk? I’m going to bring Victoria here for a late night dinner."
Felipe signed confusion.
"No, I will make sure it is late enough that my father has gone to bed and she won’t hear him."
Felipe continued to sign quickly. He was worried about his friends behavior. He was taking more chances, more risks nowadays and soon someone was going to find out who he was.
"Don't worry, Felipe. I'll be okay." Diego swung himself into the saddle and turned his faithful steed around and galloped out the exit.
Victoria was sitting outside gazing at the stars when she felt a soft petal touch her cheek and a sweet scent fill her nostrils. She smiled widely as he knelt beside her, his lips brushing her cheek lightly. "This rose pales by your beauty."
Had it not been dark he would have seen the blush creep along her cheeks and down her neck. She took the rose and took a nice, long whiff.
"You always say the sweetest things." She whispered, leaning closer to him, the heat from her body warming him like nothing else.
"I had to see you." He looked away, unsure of whether or not to bring up his desires with her.
Her cool hand on his cheek brought his gaze back to her, " What's wrong?"
"It's getting harder to ...... restrain myself when I am near you."
She smiled and embraced him tightly, "I know what you mean. We have danced around each other for so long ...."
He nodded and pressed a quick, deep kiss to her parted lips.
They parted quickly when Sergeant Mendoza stumbled around the corner and interrupted their quiet moment.
"Oh, Zorro, Señorita Escalante...I'm sorry...." He stuttered, and then realized who he was speaking to, "Zorro!"
"You're timing leaves much to be desired, Sergeant," Zorro grinned as Mendoza backed away.
"Oh Zorro, you'd better leave before the alcalde finds out you are in the pueblo."
"Why is that Sergeant," the masked man pressed a kiss to the Señorita's hand, and grinned, "he might order you to arrest me?"
"Sí," Mendoza agreed, "I should place you under arrest now."
"Don't bother, I'll be going." He stood quickly but not before noticing the look of disappointment that crossed Victoria's face, "with my lovely companion here, of course."
Her eyes lit like a supernova and she jumped to her feet and he lifted her onto Tornado's back.
"Don't bother to follow, Sergeant," Zorro swung himself into the saddle behind Victoria and pressed his knees into the stallion’s sides. "You won’t catch us."
Mendoza stood motionless as the stallion galloped off into the night with it's two riders.
None of them noticed the falling star that slid from the heavens and into the Pacific Ocean......
"Why must I be blindfolded?" Victoria asked as she reached up to touch the silk that covered her eyes.
"It is for your protection as much as my own, Victoria," Zorro pressed a kiss to her temple which momentarily caused her to be silent.
"Bend down please," He asked and he placed a hand on her head to help with his request, as the door to the secret cave swung open to admit the large stallion.
The sweet aroma of freshly prepared food, filled their nostrils as Zorro dismounted immediately and took a quick look around before helping Victoria off Tornado and removing the mask.
"It smells wonderful." She beamed, taking a good look around the cave.
He purposely steered her away from the stairs and she noted this for further discussion. She stared at the scrumptious spread before them and smiled up at him as he pulled out the seat for her.
"It's very beautiful." She stared at him as he poured the wine, "you must have had help preparing this lovely meal."
He ignored her comment.
He simply smiled and extended his glass in a toast. "To us. May the day come quickly when we can be together in all things."
She lifted her glass and grinned when the sound of the gentle touch echoed off the cave walls.
"It will, of that I am certain." She took a sip of the potent wine and set the glass down.
"So the infamous Zorro does drink." She smiled and took a bite of the moist meat.
"Occasionally. I don’t have much taste for wine." He followed suit with his meal.
"And this food, " She examined the contents of her plate closely, "Quail, vegetables, fruit. How did you manage it? You must be quite wealthy to afford such delicacies.
"Ah Señorita eat the meal rather then inspect it." He chuckled when she gave him a rude look. "I know, I know, it’s the cook in you." Almost as an after thought he continued, "and the curiosity."
She nodded and took another mouthful of food and washed it down with some more wine.
A few glassfuls later and she was a bundle of giggling energy.
She played with the practice foils hanging on the walls as if she were a serious fencer, played with the experiments on the tables as if they were toys, until he had to physically restrain her.
"You did this on purpose didn't you?" He scolded as she sunk into his arms giggling playfully.
She nodded and he sighed.
"This is going to complicate matters slightly in getting you home."
"I don't want to go home." She smiled, her eyes slightly clouded but clearer, it seemed, then a minute before. "I want to stay with you."
"You can't, Bella." He soothed.
"I know." Her voice was clear and there was no indication of any drunkenness at all.
If he had not been wearing the mask his eyebrows would have arched, "Looks like I have a more cunning woman on my hands than I thought." Zorro muttered when he realized that Victoria had not really been drunk but had rather been playing the part.
"Sí, mí amor." She sauntered closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to his lips that would have knocked a less restrained man to the floor with it’s intensity.
He sighed deeply when he reluctantly pulled her lips from his.
He need not say anything. She understood from the look in his eyes that she needed to leave.
"Please let me stay a little longer," She asked, moving over to one of the shelves that contained books of all shapes and sizes.
She pulled one from the shelf and began to leaf through it.
"Which one is good?" She asked, turning to smile at him.
"What interests you? Action, adventure, romance. Or would you like me to read you a little poetry?"
"Oh, how about a little R..." She snapped her mouth shut as his last comment seeped its way though her strong willed head. She stared into the deep blue eyes and wondered. Wondered if there was something about this situation that she should be familiar with.
She let it pass when he gripped her hand and sat in the chair, pulling her to sit in his lap.
"How about a little romance," he leaned forward and removed a book from the shelf. It was filled with pictures painted onto the pages and she smiled.
She rested her head on his shoulder as he held one end of the book, and she the other, and began. "Once upon a time....."
Felipe stood at the top of the stairs waiting to hear the familiar hoof beats leave the cave.
When that did not happen in the timeframe that he had expected, he peered around the wall to see what was going on.
He sighed when he witnessed the passionate kiss that Victoria placed on the masked man's lips. Diego, in his desires, Felipe felt, was going to reveal himself sooner then he had planned.
Felipe wanted to help prevent that. They still needed to come up with a way that would enable Diego to reveal his identity as Zorro without having to kill anyone and without endangering those he loved.
Felipe sat with his back against the secret entrance and fell asleep.
Somewhere the wind
Carves memories in the sand
DeSoto grinned evilly as he covered the crate, careful to keep the contents secret until he was ready to use them.
He was startled when Mendoza bumbled through the doors.
"Mendoza!" DeSoto spat, "don’t sneak up on me like that or you are going to be impaled with a Toledo tamale which will render you unable to eat ever again."
DeSoto removed his hand from his sword hilt and finished covering the crate.
Mendoza gulped and apologized. When he noticed the strange long crate lying on the floor his eyebrow’s arched in curiosity. " Alcalde, what is in the box?"
"None of your concern until I need you to use them, Mendoza." DeSoto smiled, grooming his facial hair more out of habit then necessity. "All in good time."
As an afterthought he asked. "Have you brought me those men that started the fire over Christmas?"
"Uh, alcalde," Mendoza stuttered, "I...we....I mean..."
"Out with it Sergeant!"
"Zorro stopped us and ...."
DeSoto shook his head grinning.
"What is so funny alcalde?" Mendoza asked, confused at the alcalde’s change in demeanor.
"Never mind, we won’t be needing to worry about that bandit for much longer."
"What do you mean, alcalde?"
"Go have a nice, fresh plate of tamales, Sergeant." DeSoto placed an arm around the man’s shoulders and led him out of his office. "We will talk more later."
When he closed the book, he could feel her soft, steady breathing and knew she was sound asleep. He grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple, and slowly, so as not to wake her, set the book down on the table in front of them.
Looking around he located a blanket but was unsure if he could reach it without waking her. He took the end of a practice foil and stretched it towards the blanket lying folded on another chair . Slowly he weaned the rounded metal through the fabric and pulled it, dragging it close enough so that he could bend down and pick it up. Even that, he was afraid, would wake her so he maneuvered a way to lift the heavy blanket with the foil.
Soon he spread the blanket out over them, resigning himself to the fact that he was going to be sleeping the night in the chair. That, however , was compensated with the fact that he would be spending the night in the chair with Victoria.
He smiled, lifting his legs to rest them on the desk, and pressed a kiss to her cheek when she stirred from the movement.
"I love you, Victoria." Were the words he voiced and thought before sleep claimed his mind.
"Get it put together immediately!" DeSoto ordered, standing over his men as they tried to figure out the infernal machinery in front of them.
"We are trying mí alcalde," Mendoza bumbled, dropping a heavy bolt on his toe and yelping in pain, " but this is so confusing."
"Only to the uneducated," DeSoto mumbled and took the bolt from Mendoza and put it in it's proper place. "I want this set up in time for the festivities tonight."
"But we are not taking this to the de la Vegas', are we?" Mendoza asked.
"No fool," DeSoto grunted, "we are going to lead Zorro back here so we can cut him to shreds. " He slapped Mendoza upside the head. "Yes Mendoza, you are going to place it in the wagon that I take to the party tonight. Four lancers are going to be hiding beneath the tarp ready when Zorro makes his appearance."
Mendoza nodded, "But it’s so heavy already alcalde, and it's not even together yet."
"That is why it takes four men Sergeant!"
As an afterthought, Mendoza squinted at the alcalde, "What makes you think that Zorro will show up to the fiesta?"
DeSoto huffed, "Well, my little confused Sergeant, when have you known him to not show up at a de la Vega gathering or a party?" DeSoto chuckled, "Besides, a humbling time of the year, a man in love will want to spend as much time with his lady as possible. Only this time," the leather of his gloves crinkled as he closed his fist, "we will catch him in the act!"
"Felipe, don't you dare," Diego warned, a stern look on his face. His gaze shifted from the flan Felipe held in one hand to the evil smile on Felipe's face.
The younger man held it high, as if he was going to smear it all over Diego’s nice clothes.
"Think of how angry Victoria would be if she knew you wasted her wonderful flan on my clothing," Diego took a few steps back, a smile creeping across his face despite the possible messy situation.
Felipe frowned and began to lower the dish. Diego took that as his one and only chance to rid himself of the threat posed to him and he reached for the dish.
The younger man's quick reflexes had other ideas however and he lifted the dish away. But the move caused him to be severely off balance and the creamy flan began to slide out of the dish.
Some of it slid to the floor before Diego tipped the dish upright and in the opposite direction causing still more of it to slide down Felipe’s shirt.
Eyes looking on from the doorway widened in surprise.
The boy jumped back wide-eyed, leaving the dish, and what remained of it’s contents, in Diego's hands. "When you play with me, always plan on losing," Diego chuckled. He was loosing the battle to keep a straight face and began to double over in laughter.
Felipe looked on the tables for another weapon. He would not be beaten so easily. He would take Diego’s advice and wait for his time to strike, rather then his opponent’s. He noticed some kind of batter in a bowl on the edge of the table and chuckled silently. It was covered in flour and that would more then make up for the sticky flan Diego had dumped on him which was now making it’s way down the inside of his shirt.. Felipe reached for the bowl and began to advance on Diego, taking a handful of the sticky substance and smearing it across Diego’s cheek before he had a chance to move away.
Diego jerked back in surprise, the smile fading from his lips as he looked at the bowl still in his hands and took a step toward Felipe.
"What are you doing with my food, Diego de la Vega!" Victoria stepped into the kitchen, hands on hips. "I asked you to bring in the food, not play with it!"
She was amused and Diego could see her struggle to keep her face straight.
"Could you not have chosen a messier plate of food to play with?" She bubbled, she just could not hold back the laughter and she was hoping that the two men did not see the emotion she quickly hid," maybe a pie, some bread, or even some vegetables, but NO you have to play with a messy, sticky and tasty pan of your favorite flan!"
She huffed and stepped closer to them, playing the part of the furious cook well.
Diego exchanged looks with Felipe and the boy's eyes widened. He stepped back shaking his head as Diego took a fingerful of flan and smeared it all over Victoria's nose.
Her eyes widened at his boldness and he grinned. "Why Victoria, didn't your mother ever tell you to eat your food and not play with it?"
Felipe doubled over in silent laughter and continued to back away from where Victoria and Diego were standing. He didn't want to be in the way of what happened next. He set the bowl he had been holding back where he had taken it from.
Throwing her inhibition to the wind, Victoria slid her hand into the bowl Diego held and took a handful of the sticky substance. Diego caught her hand before it reached his face however and chuckled.
"Humpf," Victoria struggled with all her might to get it closer to his face but he would just not budge. She suddenly had a change of heart and twisted away from him, the flan sliding to the floor, and raced around the table.
Diego followed her, a grin of satisfaction widening his lips. He reached long arms out to wrap one around her waist, holding her steady, and prepared to dump the remaining contents over her head.
Victoria thought quickly and reached for the contents of the bowl Felipe had just replaced on the table.
Sliding her fingers into the sticky dough, she turned in Diego's arm and slid it across his other cheek.
Felipe held the doorframe to keep himself from falling over in laughter as the two pranksters grinned at each other and their now filthy appearance.
Victoria began to draw images in the dough dripping from both of Diego’s cheeks, her laughter turning the images into squiggly lines instead.
Diego did not release her waist but instead just stared at her with that intense blue gaze.
His heart threatened to pound through his chest at their close proximity and he fought the temptation to simply bend over and press his lips to hers.
He chose an alternate approach, disappointed at his own cowardice, and lifted the bowl of flan he still held in his other hand.
She returned his intense gaze and for a moment he looked as if he would kiss her. Her heart beat wildly for those few seconds before he smeared the rest of the sticky flan across her face and the front of her chest.
"Now we are even," Diego laughed as his father stepped into the kitchen.
"What is going on here?!" Alejandro bellowed.
The older de la Vega surveyed the damage and strode over to his son completely missing the fact that the younger man had his arm wrapped snugly around the lovely Señorita’s waist.
Felipe rushed out of the room, wisely, knowing how angry Alejandro was going to get at seeing his kitchen destroyed mere hours before he was to host a New Year’s party.
Diego could find no explanation and simply stared at Victoria’s ruined clothes and then his own.
"Now who is going to clean up this mess?" Alejandro demanded.
"I will clean it up, Father," Diego grinned, he had not had this much fun in a long time but didn’t dare show that much delight in destroying his father’s kitchen just before a party, "as soon as I get changed."
"Oh yes you will, Diego," Alejandro stared at the mess surrounding him, "and don’t you take forever getting changed either!"
"Oh father," Diego lost the battle with his emotions and doubled over in laughter, Victoria soon following unable to keep a straight face in this extremely hilarious situation, "it could have been worse. We could have had a pie throwing contest or sprayed cava all over everything."
Alejandro sighed as the two adults doubled over in laughter and strode out of the room in a huff.
"Oh Diego," Victoria bubbled, "he is really angry."
Diego gently brushed his hand across her cheek, taking some of the sticky substance away,
"He’ll get over it."
When he did not remove his hand, Victoria’s eyes locked with his for a split second before she turned away uncomfortably, his arm sliding from her waist.
Diego opened his mouth to apologize when she whirled on him, mock anger concealing her amusement at their situation, "and so am I! How could you ruin my clothing! Now I will have to go home and change before the party. And I now need to make more flan!"
Diego laughed, holding onto the table for support and she stared at him. It had been a long time since she had seen him laugh so heartily, she thought better then to rob him of the fun.
"You can borrow some of my mother’s clothes," Diego said, suddenly serious, "I’m sure my father would not mind."
"I want lancers stationed around the hacienda, hidden so that no one even knows they are there," DeSoto ordered Mendoza, "I want you to tell no one of this. And if someone finds out, I will personally have your hide!"
Mendoza gulped," Sí, mí alcalde, but why...…"
"Don’t ask why. When I order you to do something, I expect it to be done without question!"
DeSoto straightened his elegant jacket and checked to make sure his blade was in its proper place.
"Does that mean that I will not be able to attend Don Alejandro’s party?" Mendoza asked cautiously.
DeSoto pulled at his facial hair in thought, "Hmmm, I think we will have one lancer there just to give the appearance of the colonial military."
He pulled out a rough sketch and began to show Mendoza where he wanted his lancers placed. " And I want them there by sundown!"
Mendoza saluted quickly," Sí alcalde!"
"And make sure you are there on time!" DeSoto called as Mendoza raced out the doors to carry out the task given to him.
Sepulveda stepped into the room and smiled.
"Ready corporal?" DeSoto asked.
"Sí alcalde," Sepulveda nodded, "we will be ready for him when he arrives."
"Good," DeSoto smiled widely and clipped the last button on his uniform before he strode riumphantly out his office door.
As dark fell over the landscape the wagon carrying what DeSoto believed to be Zorro’s downfall, made it’s way carefully along the stone and rock covered road to the de la Vega hacienda.
The wagon came to a halt farther away then the others which continuously passed them." We will leave the wagon here . I don’t want anyone suspecting something because of the bulk beneath this tarp."
Maria walked between the gathered caballeros, offering glasses of cava with which to toast the coming New Year. "I don’t know , Diego," Alejandro shook his head as Diego worked diligently setting bottles around the garden.
"Father, trust me," Diego stood and smiled, the wide teeth bearing a smile that Alejandro had never been able to refuse.
"After what you did to my kitchen today I don’t believe I have it in me," Alejandro muttered as Victoria sauntered up to them, resplendent in an old ball gown that had once belonged to Elena de la Vega.
"Yes, Diego, what are you doing?" Victoria asked. She was quite aware that he had been working on some kind of experiment to be revealed at the festivities but the New Year was minutes away and Diego had not revealed this secret.
Alejandro took another sip of cava, a sweet Champagne shipped in directly from Spain for this very celebration, and sighed.
"Almost done," Diego stuffed one more long stick into the bottle and stood, wiping his hands together with a grin. "There, I’m all set, what is the time?"
Alejandro pulled his gold pocket watch from his jacket and called for everyone’s attention. "It is almost midnight, my friends. Time to celebrate the New Year."
As the guitars and flutes began to play ‘Long Live Spain’, the friends and families gathered around to hum and sing along , their voices lending an air of freedom and peace to the otherwise dictated life of those who lived in Los Angeles.
Glasses clinked as they toasted the beginning of a New Year.
When the music ended, Diego bent to light the bottles he had dispersed at the front of the garden. They sizzled and burned and everyone gazed in awe as one by one they shot straight up into the sky and exploded in a fire of colorful sparks and lights.
Alejandro exchanged appreciative looks with a few old friends and clasped his son on the back.
"Well done, son," Alejandro smiled. Diego found himself the center of attention for the first time in a long time, and the feeling was not all that unpleasant.
He struggled to form answers to the many questions being asked of him.
"How did you do that?"
"Where did you get the colors?"
"Maybe all of that book-reading is paying off." Victoria again cast a confused look at Diego. She didn’t know why so many things he did recently were familiar to her.
After the singing and celebration at the start of the New Year, Victoria took a walk around the hacienda breathing in the fresh, crisp air.
Looking from the tall Verdugo mountain range ahead of her to the San Rafaels to the east and San Gabriels to the west, her eyes caught a faint glimmer of light in the heavens.
This drew her to stare at the sky with wondered fascination. She shivered momentarily but continued to search the ever changing night sky.
"They are called Aurora Borealis," Diego said silently, covering her shoulders with a warm serape, "or Northern Lights."
Victoria smiled at him and hugged the serape closer to her. "It’s beautiful. "
"That it is. It has been confusing scientists for hundreds of years. There is very little known about the phenomenon." Diego stared at the lights in the sky, casting quick glances at the Señorita’s fascinated face in between.
"What causes it?" Victoria asked, casting a sidelong glance at her companion, "I mean, it looks like a war or battle taking place over the horizon."
"That is what early scientists thought it was," Diego brought two chairs over to where they were standing and he motioned for her to sit, "they thought it to be a bad omen."
"And now?" Victoria turned to look at him.
"Well, one of the first records of an attempted description was made by an English physician William Gilbert in 1600." Diego began, finding it strange that he would be sharing some of his scientific knowledge with a woman who seemed so uninterested before, "his research showed that the Earth is a gigantic magnet. Attracting all sorts of particles from the heavens and space itself."
Victoria gazed at him with interest, resting her head in her hands as she stared at him.
"And in 1774, a French scientist Jean Jacque Dortous de Mairan, explains that the aurora is related to the activity of our sun ." He could see that he was loosing her and leaned closer to demonstrate with his hands, "If you take a magnet and bring tiny shards of energetic particles, like pieces of another magnet, around it, they will begin to attract each other."
She nodded, fascinated by his vivid descriptions. "You learn a lot from reading."
His heart was pounding so rapidly that he stumbled over his words several times in his nervousness.
Fortunately she didn’t notice.
"So since our earth," he extended his arms, "is a giant magnet, it attracts energy from the sun which explodes when entering our atmosphere. This causes the glow we see."
She turned to stare at the beautiful sight spread before her eyes.
"We normally don’t get the chance to see this," Diego observed, "the closer we are to the geomagnetic center of the phenomenon, which is Alaska or the Antarctic, the brighter the lights will appear."
"California is not exactly close to either of those places," He chuckled.
"Then tonight is a special night," Victoria smiled , stood, and took a few steps away from the hacienda. His soft voice, as he described the phenomenon before her eyes, echoed in her ears and she found herself wanting to hear more of his vivid descriptions.
"Indeed it is," Diego smiled, taking a chance on rubbing the chill out of her shoulders as she gripped the serape closer about her body.
They both looked to the sky as an unusually bright star twinkled it’s light into the heavens, causing them to notice a form that the stars began to make in the sky.
"Look at that!" Victoria pointed to the sky and Diego’s eyes followed her finger.
Neither of them noticed that he had pulled her to lean her back against his chest. Looking up at the sky caused her to become farther pressed into the position.
"It looks like an angel." Diego smiled, seeing the star that formed the angel’s eye, twinkle brighter then the others. He looked down and stared at her upturned face.
She suddenly became conscious of how close they were as well as the warmth that spread throughout her body by his close contact. Her next words caught in her throat as she wondered what he was thinking in his silence.
She couldn’t deny that it felt good to have strong arms holding her, warming her in her chill, but it was whose arms that encircled her now that confused her.
She had never thought of Diego as a romantic man, but she supposed that the passion he put into his knowledge of the sciences, as he had demonstrated to perfection with her tonight, could be reflected in other things that she had never noticed about him.
His gentle gaze as he stared down at her, warmed her heart and she struggled with a way to ask him a deeply personal question.
"Diego?" She turned around, his hands still on her shoulders and stared into his eyes. The blue orbs had begun to reflect the moonlight and his eyes seemed to glow.
"Yes, Victoria?" His heart was beating as wildly as her own. He could feel the thumping of her heart through her shoulder blades yet it excited rather then unnerved him.
His emotions were racing out of control and before his mind could comprehend what he was doing, the deed had been done.
Victoria found that she could not voice her question as his eyes locked with hers. She was further shocked into silence as he placed a finger under her cheek and lifted her head, as his own descended to place a gentle kiss upon her parted lips.
Her gentle intake of breath was the only sound in the area as she stood still as a statue.
Gunshots shocked them from their quiet moment as they snapped their heads to see a horse black as night racing away from the hacienda.
"After that horse!" they turned to see a lancer, who had been hidden in the shadows, order to those farther away. Two lancers immediately appeared and mounted their carefully hidden mounts.
"What is going on here?" Diego demanded, releasing a still shocked Victoria glued in place, and crossing the distance between him and Sepulveda in mere steps.
"We have been ordered…"
"Ordered to do what? Spy on my family?" Diego demanded an answer, his tone a bit more harsh than he intended, "I don’t recall the entire garrison being invited to this gathering."
Victoria stood still as a statue, her mind racing to comprehend the images and feelings whirling in front of her eyes. The big brown orbs darted from the departing horsemen to Diego and the Corporal and back again until the horses faded from view.
She could tell that Diego was very angry and for a moment she was afraid he was going to strike the lancer. Calm, cool, collected, passive, Diego was angry. Something she, or anyone, rarely saw. Victoria couldn’t process any more thoughts past the sweet taste of Diego’s lips when he had pressed them gently against hers. Suddenly her mind snapped back to the image at hand and she realized that was Tornado that had been racing away, minus a rider.
That meant Zorro was still nearby! What if he had seen the kiss Diego had given her? It certainly was not that of a friend and she was suddenly worried that Zorro had been as startled witnessing the woman he loved with another man as she was when Diego placed the kiss on her lips.
What if he misunderstood the gesture and no longer wanted her!? Her heart felt as if it was going to burst through her chest. She didn’t know where to turn or what to do. All she knew was that her heart ached, ached for the man she longed to hold her in his arms as she had been held in Diego’s moments ago.
Alejandro, bewildered by hearing his son use that tone, followed the source of his voice and had to physically restrain his son before he went for the Corporal’s throat.
"What is going on here Diego?" Alejandro asked, pulling his son’s gaze from Sepulveda, "Diego!" Alejandro shook the man.
The crowd began to gather behind them as they had heard the shots and the tone of voices as well.
"Apparently the soldiers have been hiding, lying in wait for who knows what," Diego’s voice chilled and he let the tension flow from his body, "They just shot at a riderless stallion racing away from the hacienda."
"What?!" Alejandro’s eyes narrowed as DeSoto stepped around the corner. Alejandro whirled toward the man, "Care to explain yourself, alcalde? Why are your men hiding around my hacienda and WHY are they shooting at barebacked stallions!"
"I have ordered my men to surround this hacienda in case Zorro shows up," DeSoto began, defending his actions, "I am completely within my authority."
"To cause potential danger to me and my guests is NOT within your authority, alcalde!" Alejandro protested.
"Alcalde, that was Zorro’s stallion that we shot at," Sepulveda began, defending himself.
"The capture of Zorro is . . . ."
"You are obsessed with the capture of that man," Diego glared, "When will you admit that you will never catch him!" Diego turned on his heel and strode through the crowd into the hacienda.
DeSoto’s eyes narrowed and the crowd gasped and murmured among themselves at Diego’s rare display of temper.
Even more confused were the big brown orbs that followed his every move and word since their lips had parted.
Diego resisted the urge to grasp something and throw it. Instead he slammed his fist on the fireplace as he looked carefully around and slipped through the hidden opening.
Felipe tried to calm his friend but Diego was furious. " How could you let him out with so many people around the hacienda!?"
Felipe signed his reasons and Diego calmed slightly, "I’m sorry Felipe, I am just so enraged by the alcalde’s actions tonight. That and ..."
He trailed off. No need for Felipe to know that Diego de la Vega had kissed Victoria tonight.
"So Tornado’s not back from his run," Diego sighed looking around the cave for his stallion.
Felipe shook his head.
"We’ll find him," Diego patted Felipe on the shoulder. "Well a least my little outburst will cover my disappearance tonight. If anyone asks, tell them that I am upset and don’t want to be disturbed. You don’t know where I’ve gone."
Felipe signed a question.
"I will use one of my father’s horses for now. It’s dark , no one will be able to see the brand," Diego changed quickly and rushed out of the cave entrance.
After Diego had found Tornado not far from home, he brought the stallion back to the cave, saddled him and rushed off to teach the alcalde a lesson about shooting at barebacked stallions.
Zorro and Tornado found DeSoto, Alejandro and the rest of the guests, where Diego had left them. In the garden arguing whether or not the alcalde’s actions on this night celebrating the new year were appropriate.
"My decisions are absolute here, de la Vega." DeSoto spat, "The people do not have the authority ..."
"On the contrary alcalde!" Zorro slipped through the cheering crowd and slid off Tornado’s back with a quick swing of a powerful leg, "Article 1 and 2 of the National Constitution of Spain dictates that ‘National sovereignty is vested in the Spanish people, from whom emanate the powers of the State’.
Alejandro chuckled. The man was a genius; educated, talented and graceful as well!
"Indeed he is correct alcalde," Alejandro grinned as the alcalde frowned.
Victoria’s eyes lit when she noticed her masked man and pushed her way through the crowd to stand beside Alejandro. Her heart leapt into her chest even further when the masked man acknowledged her by blowing her a kiss from gloved fingers.
"And that means," Zorro took a step towards the alcalde who promptly drew his sword," that you receive your power FROM the people of this land not at the EXPENSE of them."
Zorro drew his blade in defense and took a step back, giving the alcalde a momentary satisfaction of authority.
"I know the Constitution of Spain , Zorro," DeSoto lunged at the masked man who dodged it easily," and that constitution empowers me with the task of upholding justice and peace in the New World."
"You do not create peace, alcalde!" Victoria spat, "you create tyranny and heartache with every official decision!"
"The lovely Señorita is absolutely correct," Zorro beat the thick portion of his blade quickly against the alcalde’s and disengaged beneath the it in a circular motion in an attempt to disarm the man.
The sounds of a carriage being rolled up behind them, caused Zorro to loose his concentration of the task at hand and he pulled his blade out of the motion before actually finishing the task.
"Your grip has gotten heavier, alcalde," Zorro grinned," that is not a good trait for a swordsman."
"It’s kept you from continually disarming me with those envelopments, Zorro," DeSoto smiled when Zorro recognized the correct term for the move he continually inflicted on the alcalde.
"And now," With a sweeping gesture of his arms, the tarp covering the wagon slid to the ground and four lancers aimed a very large mechanical looking device at the masked man, " I do suggest that the guests move away or they will indeed get hurt."
Zorro narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at the mechanical beast.
The garden was lit more then normal because of the fiesta, but it was still dark in comparison to daylight. Zorro recognized the weapon as an advanced form of a rifle, capable of firing several rounds at once without having to reload.
"Ah, you will need that weapon in battle against the Mexican army, they will be here soon," Zorro grinned, pointing over the mountains he, as Diego, had been staring at with Victoria.
"What?" DeSoto followed to the mountains where Zorro indicated over his shoulder. Seeing the light reflected in the heavens he took a step back.
The people began to murmur their confusion and fright as Victoria stared hard at the masked man. Those were, what did Diego call them?…… 'Northern Lights'. That weren’t an army. But, as Diego had explained, those uneducated in the phenomenon always considered the lights in the sky to be a bad omen of war and destruction to come. She realized what Zorro was trying to do. Scare the alcalde into distraction so that he could escape that monstrous weapon.
"You’re lying."
Zorro grinned. "What do you think those lights in the sky are? Those minute flashes? Those are cannons whose sound you cannot yet hear. The flashes, the destruction as the explosive material strikes land and destroys everything in it’s path."
Zorro could see the indecision in the alcalde’s eyes and decided that now was the time to take his leave.
The soldiers were no longer leaning over the rapid fire gun but looking to the sky just as most of the gathered crowd.
"Adios Alcalde, good luck in the coming battle." Zorro gripped Tornado’s mane and lifted himself onto the stallion’s bare back with little effort.
He turned the stallion around and saluted the crowd. To Victoria and Alejandro , he said, "Have no fear, no one will be harmed."
"Lancers! Fire!" DeSoto ordered and Zorro wheeled Tornado around sharply.
"Do you want to waste your artillery on me, when a battle approaches!?" Zorro again pointed to the sky and kicked his heals into Tornado’s sides. The stallion galloped away as the soldiers hesitated to fire what could be their only defense against an invading army.
The alcalde frowned as they heard the masked man laugh as his stallion galloped around the hacienda and out of the way of the gun should the lancers find their courage and decide to fire.
Victoria and Alejandro chuckled at the way the alcalde had been duped again.
"Diego was explaining to me tonight what those lights in the sky really are," Victoria whispered, still smiling.
"Really?" Alejandro's eyebrows lifted and Victoria paled when she caught the underlying meaning of that one little word.
Several events had caused Alejandro to concern himself with his son's private and personal life. He and Victoria seemed to be getting closer and he was indeed interested in seeing how things would turn out. Although for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how his son could compete with Zorro for Victoria's affections.
Victoria couldn't deny how she felt when they had been standing all alone, staring at the sky,
the heat from his body warming her like none others ever had. With a sigh, Victoria wondered
how she would feel when she saw the tall caballero again.
Diego carefully removed an old book from one of the shelves that lined the wall behind his desk. The chair creaked as he sat down and opened the book. "Now I need to find out how that fire could have started on it’s own."
Felipe signed quickly and Diego concentrated to catch everything the young man was saying.
"Divine intervention?" Diego smiled, turning a page in the book and thinking, "I don’t know, Felipe. I used to not believe in such things. But ever since Mr. and Mrs. Claus appeared in the pueblo several years ago, my mind has been swayed slightly."
Felipe nodded.
"Why the concern for burning down the alcalde’s jail? Hmm?" Diego asked, more to himself then to Felipe.
Both heads turned toward the stairs at the sound of Alejandro’s voice.
Diego closed the book and set it down on the desk not noticing a strange letter that the book now covered that had not been there previously.
"Well let me go sate my father's curiosity and then get into the pueblo to rid us of that menacing device the alcalde had shipped in from Spain. I'll figure out the cause of the fire later."
Had Diego read the note, he would have discovered that indeed, Felipe had been right. His friend would find no cause for the fire started in the alcalde's jail on la Noche Buena.
Neatly scrawled on the note were the simple words, 'Let it go, my son.'
The edges of the parchment were burned, as if they had been in the fire that Diego was so
diligently trying to find the cause of.
A few nights later, as Victoria was closing the tavern for the evening, she did not notice the black shadow standing concealed in the darkness.
He smiled as he watched her finish the dishes for the evening and toss out what food there was left so that it would not spoil.
Quickly and methodically she finished her work and prepared to blow out the candlelight when she saw him step out of the shadows.
"You are very efficient, Señorita," He took her hand and pressed a kiss to the soft skin.
"I have to be, there is so much work to do." She smiled and held his hand when he sought to remove it. She led him to a bench, sat down, and motioned for him to do so as well.
"You’ve had a hard life," He commented, "You, of all people, deserve a much more luxurious one."
"I like my work, Zorro," She smiled, sliding closer to him along the bench and feeling the heat radiate from his body, "it gives my life purpose."
"And where would being a wife and mother fit into that life?" He asked, smiling widely. He squeezed her hand and was rewarded with a wide-eyed smile.
"Those things would take priority in my life," She leaned forward slightly and pressed her lips to his cheek," as well as the love and care for my husband."
"On the contrary, Señorita," He pressed a kiss to her lips and continued, "It is I that will be taking care of you."
His eyes caught a familiar statue sitting over the mantle of the fire pit and he smiled.
She followed his eyes and stared lovingly at the hand carved, wooden angel.
"What a beautiful statue," Zorro commented and stood to take a better look.
"Yes, a Christmas gift but I don’t know who it was from."
"Ah," he nodded grinning, "a secret admirer."
As he turned it around gloved fingers, he noticed something in the bottom of the hand carving.
It looked as if the bottom could come out and he turned it over so that Victoria could see. He concealed his amazement and asked as calmly as he could, "It looks like a container."
Her eyes narrowed and she took the carving from his hands. It seemed a little heavier then the last time she had held it and she worked to pry the bottom from the statue.
"That was not there when I received it," Victoria commented and ignored the look of disbelief that Zorro's eyes flashed at her.
"Here let me help," Zorro pulled a knife from behind him and carefully pried at the edges until the bottom popped out.
Victoria looked inside the statue before sliding her hand inside. Her fingers immediately came into contact with something very soft, a material of some kind. She pulled it out and gasped at the fine blue silk, embroidered with red roses.
"It's beautiful," She gasped.
Zorro shook the container, "There's more."
Zorro stared as she reached her hand inside and pulled out a small, thin book .
"Poetry," He said flatly. He knew that book. It was very old and he had quoted her many passages out of his copy.
She stared at him. They way he had said the word. Something familiar about the tone of voice startled her but she overlooked it .
The next thing she pulled out of the strangely full container, was a veil of the purest white, again with embroidered white roses down the entire length.
When she thought she had emptied the statue, she handed it to Zorro who shook it and found that it was indeed not yet empty.
"Something else, Querida," He smiled as she set the items on the clean table.
"What else could there be, and where have these come from?" She asked as she reached her hand in to pull out a gold locket resting in a velvet pouch.
She opened the clasp and stared at the image of her mother painted within. Zorro’s eyes widened as he noticed the image of the woman painted in the other half of the locket. His mother’s image stared back at him and her beauty continued to astonish him to this day.
"My mother," Victoria clutched the locket to her chest and then opened it to look at the image once again, "but who is this other woman?" She squinted. The woman looked vaguely familiar but Victoria could not remember where she had seen her before.
Zorro was so caught up in the emotion the image brought to his mind that he did not realize the words that had come out of his mouth until after he had said them, "Elena de la Vega." And after he had found the note a day prior he knew that divine intervention was at work here.
Victoria’s eyes widened as a small handwritten piece of parchment slid from the inside of the statue and came to rest on the floor.
Victoria bent to pick it up and read the words aloud. ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue..........You have chosen well , my child..... I love you....’
Victoria gazed at the woman with the dark hair and strikingly blue eyes; Elena, and then snapped her head to look up into the same eyes that she saw reflected in the painting.
"Madre de Diós," where the only words echoed in the silence of the room...........
In the corner of the kitchen stood a very familiar shape. The woman simply smiled as the couple tore their gaze from one another and stared at her, seeing in their own eyes the image that they wanted to see in the woman. Elena de la Vega and Señora Escalante.
The woman's voice floated softly to them and Zorro held Victoria to steady her.
"Dreams do come true if you only just believe," she blew them a kiss and then faded from view as if she had never been there.
Outside stars glimmered brightly in the night as the heavens opened and it began to snow.
And in the old book of poetry that was found later, in the statue Diego had received on Christmas Day, there was a note ......It read......
shelter her
gently
there in your arms she'll stay
until the day
when you
bring her back home to me