Note: I was feeling kind and decided the post the last chapter now, instead of a few days from now. No, don't get used to it. I won't always be so nice :)
Again, there is a small piece of chapter 2 missing, which will be uploaded onto my site as soon as I'm done posting this here.
Chapter 3
Victoria swallowed hard and whirled back toward Mendoza, her mind working furiously for an explanation for why her friend was half-naked and lying in her bed.
"He was injured while trying to help me." She didn't make any attempt to mask the shaking in her voice. "Will you go get doctor Hernandez? And someone needs to tell Don Alejandro. Please. I think Diego has some broken bones and maybe some bleeding inside. He needs help quickly!" As she spoke, her voice rose, taking on a slightly hysterical edge.
"I will go get Don Alejandro," Mendoza stepped away as de Soto issued another order.
"I will get Don Alejandro, you go escort Doctor Hernandez here immediately."
"Sí, Alcalde!" Mendoza saluted and vanished from sight, de Soto on his heels.
Victoria heaved a heavy sigh and slowly turned back toward the unconscious man. She stared for a long moment, stunned into immobility, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. His dark hair fell over his forehead now, giving him a boyish, yet roguish look. His eyes were closed and she took a hesitant step forward, and then another, unsure if the sight before her were truly real or simply a dream.
When she fell to her knees beside the bed and took his hand in hers, the tears began to fall. She murmured his name, over and over, unable to take her eyes off his face. "How – why – what –" She couldn't finish a thought; her mind was racing with the implications this revelation would mean to her life, to his life, to – well, everything!
She reached up and brushed his hair back from his forehead, her brow furrowing when she noticed how warm his skin was to her touch. Without looking, she dipped the rag she held into the water and then wrung it out. Only when she looked down to fold it did she realize she still held the black silk mask.
"Oh Diego," She whispered, eyes sad. She spread the cool rag out on his chest and folded the black mask carefully, reverently. "Why didn't you tell me?" She leaned toward him and flattened her hand against his cheek. She searched his face, the contours she knew so well, had seen nearly every day since his return from Spain. How could she have never known? Never realized that she was in love with her best friend?
Time passed slowly as she watched the slow rise and fall of his chest. Her thoughts drifted to the times, and there were a few, where she had almost let herself believe that her friend could be the masked man she loved so much. But then he would do or say something so completely uncharacteristic for Zorro, that she had dismissed the possibility of them being one and the same.
But now she could see all of the similarities between the two men. It was so simple. Yet she had never been able to put the two of them together so completely in her mind before.
Shame so profound she sobbed aloud also warred for dominance in her troubled mind. All of the times she had compared Diego to Zorro and made no secret about her disappointment in the indolent caballero; her constant nagging of him to do more for the people of the pueblo instead of bury his nose in his books and experiments. All of this time, he had been doing more. More than anyone could have ever guessed.
Victoria cringed when she realized that the self-deprecating behavior her friend exhibited was a ruse that masked his true feelings. The very real pain she had caused at every available opportunity when comparing him to Zorro.
"How can you still love me?" she asked quietly. "I've treated you so badly. Oh, Dios, Diego, I'm so sorry." She took his hand and squeezed it tightly, remembering fleeting moments of joy as those wonderfully large, gentle hands touched her face, held her tightly.
She was still staring at Diego, silent tears slipping down her cheeks, when Alejandro rushed into the room, Felipe at his heels.
"Diego!" Alejandro knelt beside Victoria, curiously surprised when she didn't immediately move away to allow him near his son.
Victoria stood slowly as Alejandro turned imploring eyes on her. "What happened?"
She calmly moved toward the door and closed it before returning to kneel beside Alejandro. When she didn't answer, Alejandro placed a hand on her shoulder. He could see she was suffering from some kind of shock, and he noticed the tears glistening on her pale cheeks, but he was too concerned about the pale form of his unconscious son to ask about her own wellbeing.
"Don Alejandro," Victoria stared at him for a long moment, her eyes unblinking, intense. "I need you to do something for me."
The caballero was taken aback by the intensity in her eyes, which immediately arrested the protest forming on his lips. "What is it?"
When she reached beneath the bed and pulled Zorro's hat and belt, followed by his gloves and torn shirt from beneath it, Alejandro's eyes widened.
"What is –"
"You must hide these, please." She pleaded. "They cannot remain here. Not with lancers crawling all around the tavern, searching for damage."
"Where did these –" Alejandro began and then his eyes widened as they fell on his son. "Victoria – are you telling me -" he trailed off, realizing that his son was lying in Victoria's bed without a shirt. And he now held Zorro's shirt in his hands.
But Victoria was continuing as if he'd never asked a question. " – And you must keep him covered. I couldn't remove his pants and – and they would give him away."
Alejandro shook his head, shock evident on his face. "Victoria – this can't be –"
"It is!" She cried softly, desperate to convey the importance and urgency of her request. "I don't know why, or how or –" She shook her head as tears dripped slowly down her cheeks. "But – he can't be discovered!"
The urgency in her voice was contagious, and Alejandro nodded whirling quickly on Felipe, who was standing behind Alejandro, eyes widened in disbelief. "Rush home and get him some clothes. Bring the cart. We'll change him when you return."
As Felipe turned, Victoria pulled the black cape, gloves, and torn shirt out from Alejandro's hands and shoved them into Felipe's. "Hide these – somewhere!"
Felipe nodded quickly and shoved the black silk down his loose fitting peasant shirt before hurrying out the door.
Before Victoria could say another word, Doctor Hernandez appeared and Victoria pulled the startled man into the room and closed the door.
"What happened?"
Victoria repeated the fabricated story, hoping that the doctor would not feel it necessary to pull the blanket any further down past Diego's waist. If he did, there would be no way out of explaining why the caballero was lying half dressed in her bed, wearing very uncustomary black pants.
Unfortunately, Victoria's heart sank when the doctor asked Alejandro for assistance in rolling the unconscious man onto his stomach so he could look at Diego's back. The movement caused the blanket to reveal a bit of the black material. But Hernandez did not cease his examination. Instead, he leveled a grateful gaze at Victoria, praising her for her treatment of the multitude of cuts.
With Alejandro's help, the doctor rolled Diego onto his back and continued his examination. Without a word, he pulled the blanket back to his patient's waist and tucked it tightly around him. "I will need him to be awake before I can find out if he has any broken bones. I believe he has some broken ribs and I will need to wrap them before he is moved." His eyes shifted between Victoria and Alejandro. "And I will accompany you back to the hacienda."
"Felipe has gone to get the cart," Alejandro said with a nod.
"And a change of clothes, I hope." The doctor stared at Alejandro who exhaled deeply.
Before Victoria or Alejandro could frame a believable excuse, the doctor simply smiled and said softly, "It's a confirmation of something I've known for a good while now."
Victoria's eyes widened as did Alejandro's.
"How?" Alejandro recovered first.
"He tries too hard to not appear interested in you," Hernandez gave Victoria a sad smile. "Yet, he cannot stay away from you. Zorro's secret is easily discovered if you know what to look for."
"I'll bet everyone in the pueblo knew but me!" Victoria muttered quietly, trying desperately to feel anger toward her best friend for keeping such a secret. But deep down, she knew and understood his reasons, even if she didn't have to like them.
"And me." Alejandro sighed, clutching his son's hand, shame and disbelief warring for dominance in his own mind. He had not treated Diego with the respect he had raised his son to exhibit toward others. Diego had a lot of explaining to do when he woke, but Alejandro had a lot of apologizing.
"If it's any consolation – those closest to him would have had to be the most blind of all."
Alejandro understood and said quietly, "for the ruse to be most effective."
Hernandez nodded. "Get him home and into a warm, comfortable bed. There will be a time for questions, and for his answers; for now, we need to help him recover."
After a few hours of blissful unconsciousness, Diego woke to such a pounding in his head that he wished he were still asleep. He groaned, drawing the attention of those who waited anxiously by his bedside.
"Diego?"
He could hear Victoria's sweet voice calling to him, tugging at his semi-conscious mind.
"Son?"
Diego opened his eyes and found himself looking into the very concerned dark gaze of the woman he loved.
"Victoria?" he whispered, his hand flying to his side as he tried to take a deep breath. He groaned and the doctor immediately appeared at her side.
"How long have I been uncon–"
"Let me examine you, Diego." Hernandez glanced warily at Victoria, who rolled her eyes and stood.
Diego tried to chuckle at the offended look in her eyes but only succeeded in a short gasp of pain. If they only knew . . . A flush crept along Diego's neck as he remembered the night. He hoped she didn't regret what had transpired between her and the masked man she loved so deeply. She was by his side now, so she must have accepted the revelation that he was that masked man. He would have to find an appropriate time to broach the subject – if his father would ignore propriety for a change and leave her alone with him.
"I'll be in the sitting room. Please send for me when you're done with your examination." Victoria glanced at the doctor, then at Alejandro. With a conspiratorial smile, she leaned over and kissed Diego gently on the mouth, letting her hand linger on his cheek for a few moments longer than was entirely proper.
Alejandro didn't bother to hide a smile as Diego's jaw fell open and his eyes followed her retreat from the room. After she had gone, Alejandro turned to his son, forcing a stern look into his eyes. "You have a great deal of explaining to do, my boy."
"Later," Hernandez said sharply as he pressed at Diego's side, drawing a sharp hiss between clenched teeth from the young caballero.
"As I thought. You've got some broken ribs."
Diego nodded, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep, shaking breath. "My arm is broken or badly sprained as well."
The doctor took his time in completing his exam, making sure he found, treated, and bound every cut and bruise on his patient's body. "You've got a bit of a fever as well." He dug through his medical bag and pulled out a small bottle. "I'm sure you'll recognize this," Hernandez said with a small smile as he recalled the day Zorro had dropped it off to cure a young boy's raging fever.
Diego forced a blank look into his eyes and the doctor just laughed. "Fine, fine. Keep up your secrets." He turned to Alejandro. "Put a few drops of this in his tea, or soup, every four hours."
Enough time had passed that Diego was getting tired again. He forced his eyes to remain open, hoping that his father or the doctor would allow Victoria to return. His lovely señorita, he imagined, was probably quite agitated by being forced to wait in the sitting room.
"Someone had better get Victoria, before she storms in here without an invitation," Diego said weakly, a small smile curling his lips.
"Yes, well, you are going back to sleep," Alejandro put a few drops of medication into a nearby glass of wine and held it to his son's lips.
Diego wrinkled his nose at his father's choice of beverage but the stern look in the older man's eyes told Diego he'd better drink it without complaint.
Doctor Hernandez wondered at the conversations that would surely take place as soon as Diego was clearheaded enough to field the volleys that were sure to come from every conceivable direction. "I'll get the señorita. Send for me if I'm needed. Otherwise, I'll return tomorrow."
"Thank you, Doctor." Diego said as he sipped more wine his father stubbornly set at his lips.
Victoria swept into the room as soon as Doctor Hernandez left and she resumed her seat next to the bed. When she began fussing with the pillows, the blanket, the injuries that were now very securely bound, Diego exchanged a mildly amused look with his father.
"You can be sure that Doctor Hernandez treated my injuries to the best of his ability," Diego finally said, lifting his hand to catch hers as they folded in on themselves at his words. When their eyes met, and held, so many unspoken words and feelings passed between the two that Alejandro couldn't help but swallow uncomfortably.
He felt he was intruding on an intensely private moment, but his sense of propriety would not allow him to step away and leave the señorita alone in his half-dressed son's bedroom.
"Father," Diego began, tugging his gaze with difficulty from those of his love. "I know this might be a bit much to ask, especially right now, but could you please give us a few moments alone?"
Alejandro raised an amused eyebrow but Diego continued, somewhat nervously, the older caballero thought.
"I am hardly in any condition to take advantage of the situation."
Victoria lowered her eyes and stared at their entwined hands. His fingers tightened around hers, reassuring her without words.
"Against my better judgment . . ." Alejandro rose and leveled a serious look at his son. "Not too long now. You need rest. There will be plenty of time for talking later." With that, he stepped out of the room, hesitating at the entrance to cast one last look back toward the couple.
When Diego was certain his father wasn't lurking right outside, he weakly lifted his hand to Victoria's cheek, "It's all right. I don't think I have the energy to talk anyway."
Their eyes met and Victoria smiled slowly. "What did you want to do, instead, then, Diego de la Vega?"
His fingers fanned beneath her chin and slowly drew her closer. "Kiss you." Somewhat quickly and nervously, he added, "If you will permit me."
A small tremor raced down her spine at such unusual directness and her eyes brightened.
"Before my own medicine knocks me out."
"Well, Diego. You know." Victoria began, enjoying the slight discomfort she could see pass across his eyes when she didn't immediately agree to his 'request'. "That wouldn't be proper."
Diego nodded, remembering the events of the previous night. The look in her eyes told him she was remembering them as well. "I think we've already strained the bounds of what is proper."
"Oh no." Victoria's mouth was very close now as she leaned toward him. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek. "We haven't strained them at all."
Diego's eyebrow rose, wondering for a split second what she could possibly think their actions last night could conceivably be constituted as.
"We ripped them to tiny, little, unidentifiable shreds."
Diego grinned, refusing to avert his eyes as he had so often done in the past. Now was a time for honesty, not carefully concealed secrets.
In spite of his weakness, his hand slid from beneath her chin around her neck to gently guide her the rest of the way to his mouth. When their lips met, the familiar heat and passion ignited between them and they clung to one another, drinking heavily, until the need for air required them to part.
His eyes were tender when they parted, and he whispered, "This isn't the way I envisioned you discovering my secret."
Her eyes flashed. "Then just how, exactly, did you envision telling me about this very large, life-altering piece of information?"
A small smiled tugged at his lips. "Over a nice romantic candle-lit dinner – that you didn't have to cook yourself," he added with a chuckle.
"We had a nice, romantic, candle-lit dinner that day in the cave . . ."
Diego sighed, expecting the loud, angry tirade to begin any moment. "I know. I'm sorry. I should have told you then. But I was afraid."
Her eyes were tender but full of an unspoken challenge. "That I wouldn't truly love the man behind the mask?"
"I admitted as much to you that day. But, no, not just that. I'd overheard the bandits talking about getting the information about the cave out of you one way or another." Diego took her hand in his and reverently squeezed it, brushing his thumb gently across her wrist. "I vowed not to put you in that kind of danger. Not for me."
"I understand your reasons," Victoria admitted, noting by the drooping look in his eyes that he was tiring. "But it was unfair to make that decision for me."
He closed his eyes and she leaned forward and kissed him gently. "Sleep, we can talk more about this when you wake."
He forced his eyes open, shifting them so that they gazed imploringly into her own. "I love you, Victoria. I've only ever had your safety –"
"I know." She pressed her fingers to his lips and he closed his eyes, finally succumbing to his body's injuries and the medication. "Later, my love." She felt him relax beneath her touch, smiling when she realized that he'd heard the heartfelt endearment.
If it was possible, his body hurt even more when he woke hours later. His head was clearer but there wasn't a place on his body that didn't hurt.
He smiled tiredly down at Victoria, who had her head pillowed on the bed beneath a bent arm.
He reached out to gently touch her dark curls and she instantly woke, her eyes brightening.
"Diego!" She leaned toward him and brushed her lips against his.
"How did you convince my father to let you stay?" he rasped, clearing his throat so that he could speak in a more normal tone.
"You were asleep," she said simply.
Diego chuckled, wishing he had heard that conversation. His father was more concerned with propriety and reputation than he should be, in Diego's rather jaded opinion.
She took his hand. "How do you feel?"
"Like the tavern collapsed on top of me."
She reached out and brushed back a lock of dark hair that had fallen into his eyes. "No, it was just my dresser."
"Remind me to put your dresser on the far side of our bedroom, then," he joked with a smile and Victoria's eyes brightened noticeably at the mention of their future.
"While I am encouraged by such conversation," Alejandro strode into the room, carrying a glass of juice, "you will first have to come up with a plan to convince the pueblo that Victoria has fallen out of love with Zorro and in love with you, my son."
Diego nodded solemnly but it was Victoria who spoke. "Thanks to my best friend's heroic actions during the earthquakes, I've suddenly realized that I care for him a lot more than I thought I did." She took his hand and brought it to her lips, slowly kissing each long finger.
Alejandro's eyebrows rose and fell, contemplating this story. "It just might work."
"It just might at that," Diego added with a grin, sliding his fingers from her lips around to encircle the base of her neck. Just as he would have drawn her lips to his, Alejandro cleared his throat from the other side of the bed.
"Don't make me regret letting Victoria stay here to care for you." Alejandro's gaze carried with it a stern warning and Diego instantly removed his hand.
Although he was tempted to argue with his father - he and Victoria were engaged, after all - Diego decided on a safer subject. "How is the tavern faring?"
Victoria reached for his hand, defiantly holding it tightly as Alejandro leaned back in his chair and watched the exchange.
"I don't know. I haven't been back since they brought you home."
Diego glanced at his father. "We should send Felipe to make sure everything is still in its proper place."
"It will be fine, Diego," Victoria smiled softly, her heard warmed by his concern. "Your life is far more important to me than any building."
Diego turned his gaze toward his father, "Can we have a few moments, father? Please?"
Alejandro shook his head. "Not until you are up and walking around on your own."
As Diego opened his mouth to protest, Alejandro raised his hands. "I will have no one speaking ill about my future daughter-in-law. There will be no rumors surrounding this courtship."
Diego rolled his eyes as Victoria chuckled. "I'll go get you some food. You must be starving."
A small, mischievous smiled tugged at his lips as his gaze swept across her lovely curves. Remembering how they had felt beneath his hand and mouth, he shifted uncomfortably in the bed. "Very much so," he said, his voice taking on a slightly deeper tone than was normal.
Victoria flushed, noticing his appreciative gaze, and left the two men alone, but not before leveling a smoldering look at Diego which instantly fired his blood.
Alejandro laughed as Diego closed his eyes and sighed. "Control your passions, my son. You will be married soon enough."
Diego groaned and admitted with a knowing sigh, "That is so much easier said than done."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed but he didn't press further. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what kind of liberties Zorro had taken with his lady, although he anticipated they were actions his gentlemanly son would not have otherwise done.
The medication Alejandro studiously continued to drop into his son's food kept Diego asleep for most of the next day and when he woke he was quite ready to get out of bed. Despite Alejandro's insistence that he remain confined to his room for another day, Diego simply acquiesced until his father went into the pueblo.
Victoria found him in the garden when she returned from her own errand at the tavern.
"It's good to see you up and moving about."
Diego looked up from his book, a lively adventure story he had read many times before, and smiled lovingly at his lady. "If my father had his way, I would still be flat on my back in bed."
Victoria chuckled and took a seat next to him on the ornately carved bench. "Such a position must be quite alien to you."
His gaze met hers and, as usual, a spark ignited between them. He lifted his good arm and wrapped it around her shoulder as she leaned against him, resting her hands on his upper thigh. "I confess," his breath was hot on her lips, "to a preference of seeing you flat on yours." He brushed his lips against hers and she trembled, more from his words than from his touch.
"It's not fair, you know," she whispered, lifting her hand to curl her fingers into his dark hair.
A smirk crossed his lips as he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth and whispered, "What might that be?"
"You've seen me –" She swallowed somewhat nervously but determinedly continued.
He kissed her, as much out of desire to halt this line of discussion as well as to taste the sweetness of her lips again. He wasn't used to such closeness and his body had a very difficult time behaving itself when she was so close. If his father saw them now, he would confine the both of them to different corners of the hacienda until the wedding.
He whispered. "Soon." And she melted against his side. His hand moved from her shoulder into her hair, turning her head further towards him and deepening their kiss.
"Sooner than even you plan if your father has anything to say about it," Victoria chuckled when they finally parted.
Diego laughed and pulled her closer. "I have no doubt. My father has been nagging me to marry since I returned from Spain." He turned bright eyes on her. "And you know how long that's been!"
Victoria frowned. "Yes. I know exactly how long it's been."
Diego decided to continue before Victoria's mood deteriorated and they started to argue about the passing of so much time. "I would take you to the padre today if I thought we could marry without arousing suspicion."
"Well, your father and I have planted the first rumors surrounding our interest in one another, so," Victoria whirled on him, "I expect to be well and thoroughly courted by you, Diego de la Vega. You have a lot of time to make up for!"
Diego grinned and pulled her close. "A welcome prospect, I assure you."
She leaned against him and silence fell for a long moment before he continued. "Perhaps those earthquakes were a blessing in disguise. Even with all the destruction, only a very few lost their lives. And – we've been given an opportunity to finally be together."
"We could have been together long ago if you trusted me."
Diego sighed. "I know. And that is a mistake I will be making up to you for the rest of my life."
Victoria grinned mischievously. "I look forward to it."
As the sun set to the west, bathing the garden in shadow, Diego and Victoria simply sat together, snuggling close. They realized that their lives had changed for the better thanks to an unpredictable natural phenomenon that would continue plague the region for generations to come.
THE END
Thethirdtroll – Oh, Diego/ Zorro is able to resist, in part. You'll have to read the unedited version on my site to see just how much he is able to resist :) Thanks for the nice, long review. Hope school is going well. Keep reviewing, you know I do enjoy torturing you….
Haven't read the book. I read a synopsis and that was plenty. Really have no interest in it.
Aurelia30 – It'll be up on my site as soon as I'm done posting this chapter :) It isn't a whole lot more. But it's a bit too much for some of the delicate sensibilities of some of the readers, I think.
Have you seen Duncan in the series 'V'? Looks very good in that series as well. It was done before Zorro, where as I think DS9 was done after Zorro.
Andi – Well no. The man can never get a break. It's too much fun torturing him. Well, until the end :)