Strange World

 

Part 3

 

 

 

Back at the hacienda Leone is wondering what to do, to help Don Diego gain his love. She realizes she had just broken her promise. Victoria was looking displeased as she heard Don Alejandro saying they would be meant for each other. No, that is impossible. She watches in the mirror. She looks like she’s 18 right? She is wearing make-up, which makes her even more beautiful, but also like the rich daughter of a caballero. I will tell Victoria that she is mistaken.

Walking through the hacienda she wonders if it is really true that the hearth is the entrance to Zorro’s cave. She remembers Don Diego saying she should read a book, but she is too restless to do it. She walks alongside the bookcase to find where the viewing hole is disguised. It takes her about fifteen minutes to discover it. She’s quit pleased, but thought that it would be easier.

This is so wrong; she thinks when she continues her search. Not five minutes later she finds the key to open the door in the hearth. She steps into the fireplace to entering the cave. This looks splendid. She sees his oaken desk, the chemistry models, and the clothes hanging on a stand and the place where Toronado eats and sleeps. The cave is lighted by candles, which give a romantic smell in this room. Here Zorro asked Victoria to marry the man behind the mask. Leone dreams away in this mystic sphere, when suddenly she wakens by hearing the cave opening. Zorro enters it and falls down from Toronado.

Leone sees this and runs to the broken man.

"You have to get out of here at once," she says to herself aloud, when she sees that he is wounded.

"I told you to read a book," Zorro warns her.

"I know you did," she sighs. "What if anyone is missing you, and finding me alone?"

"Aw," Zorro screams as she helps him to stand up.

"What happened?" Leone inquires.

"Shot in my flanks, and arm," it sounds more than a whisper than the strong voice it always has been. "Must remove."

Leone understands her task and helps the man on his chair. There she takes off his shirt and sees the flesh wounds. "If only I won’t faint," she thinks.

Zorro is barely at his positives, but he asks her to hand over his tools. The first bullet he gets out is the one which was in his flanks. It wasn’t deep so his vitals should be alright. After cleaning the wound with alcohol she bands his tummy. Zorro assures her it’s okay. Removing the first bullet hurt so much, that he asks her to remove the bullet in his arm. With alcohol she cleans the wound and the knife. This one was deeper. She couldn’t bear his screaming, but knew it had to come out. This thought drives her to go on. As soon as she can, she gets the bullet out. Afterwards, she sprinkles more alcohol on the wound and bands it. When the bandage is detained, she gets Don Diego’s clothes and hands it to Zorro. "¡Gracias!" he whispers, while she turns her back to him.

"I think," he hesitates, "that you’ll have to help me."

She turns back and only nods, but feels a little awkward. She’s not the only one. Unclothing him and getting on his normal clothes, she is having a great idea to seduce everybody about her host’s injuries.

"Please, Don Diego, try to stand on your own for one minute. I’ll give you an alibi."

She walks to the chemistry table and gets a hand full of ash. She walks back and throws it all over her host.

"Come, I get you to your room, but you have to tell me where it is."

A few minutes later they arrive at his room. She takes off his jacket and opens his shirt when he lies on his bed. "Just rest now," she says looking anxious.

"Diego," screams his father. Leone rushes out the room at his returning.

"Ah Leone," he greets her, "have you seen my son?"

"Oh, yes, he is in his room, sleeping," she points back at the corridor. She isn’t lying, because it took Diego a lot of energy and he got tired of it.

"Diego is always sleeping," his father sighs.

Seeing Felipe and Victoria she decides to tell immediately what happened. "Diego tried another experiment, but it got a little out of hand. It exploded. He got hurt, but he’ll be alright."

Victoria has her in a lower esteem than she had in the early afternoon towards her.

"But I haven’t noticed a mess," Don Alejandro replies.

"I cleaned it up," fakes Leone further.

The three people walk to Diego’s room to be sure Diego is all right. Diego is still sleeping. Leone allows the family to be alone with Diego.

Victoria comes back after ten minutes. She’s looking quite upset at her.

"Is this your doing," she ironically slanders her.

"No, not at all, Victoria. Allow me to explain," she resists.

"I won’t," she interrupts. ‘You may know I don’t like you. Everybody who hurts my family or friends will be my enemy."

"I’m his friends daughter," Leone is determined to tell Victoria otherwise. "Don Diego’s friend is my father. I’m only 18 years old. I really will never steal someone else’s lover! Heaven forbid."

Victoria is not curtailing about this explanation.

"Then why were you dressed as a man and travelling alone as caballero daughters never will?" she asks her suspicious.

"I escaped," Leone sighs, "please don’t tell the De la Vega’s." begging with her eyes she hopes that Victoria will believe this new lie. It frightens Leone a little whatever makes tears dropping from her eyes. This convinces Victoria of her telling the truth.

"I won’t," she promises. She secretly enjoys the fact she is trusted, but also that she won’t lose Don Diego.

"My coach had been attack, and I was kidnapped. I could escape after a day with only one coffin and a horse. Then I hid in San Diego. I pretended to be a travelling man, until I found out where the de la Vegas lived. Don Diego saw me through today. That also brought me here."

"I’m sorry," Victoria apologizes. "I should hear you first before getting prejudiced."

"It’s ok."

Don Alejandro leaves Diego’s room too. He is convinced his son will get better. He invites the ladies to join him in the library. Leone says she would like to have a look at Diego again.

Felipe is still sitting next to his sleeping father.

"He will be alright, Don Felipe," Leone addresses the young man. "I found him in his lab." She adds a Z in the air, hoping Felipe would understand. He looks a little confused.

"I know," she explains with a low voice. "He got the bullets out. One by himself, the other I had to remove."

She asks him what happened at the plaza. Felipe is still confused, but answers her question. After hearing the story by signs, she leaves the room to join the others in the library. Outside Felipe catches her arm. "How much blood did he loose?"

"I don’t know." She honestly answers. Felipe let her go to the others. With a thinking look on his face, he watches her passing through the corridor. "If he lost blood, the Alcalde might find the hideout and everybody will be accused of being conspiring with Zorro. It must not happen."

Felipe walks in his father's room. "Don’t die father," he whispers. Silently he climbs out the window and runs to the entrance of the cave. His pinto takes him as near to the cave as possible. Nearby he finds a branch of a tree and ties it up and lets it trail after the horse. One shouldn’t find his horse's trails either. On the way he sees Don Diego’s blood on the ground. The branch also hides the blood. Coming at the entrance there is nothing that reveals the hideout of Zorro. With the branch he gets back to where he started, and unties the branch after which he rides with his pinto into another direction. When he finds more trails, he turns a few times around and gets back to the hacienda.

His instincts were right. When he enters the large hacienda the Alcalde had the soldiers make a patrol to find Zorro. Felipe has nothing to concern about but his father. He had never seen him like this. Now he has time to worry about the man who fell on his own weapon. He decides to get back to his grandfather and his guests, whom he found in library.

"How did it happen?" he hears the man saying.

Leone explains that Don Diego was trying a chemistry proof for her. He showed the affect of mixing natrium and water together. He only took too much natrium, and an explosion followed. The blow threw him against the wall.

"But where did you do it?" Victoria inquires for she hasn’t noticed any mess.

"Outside, but I also cleaned it." Hopefully they also believe this lie.

"But Diego’s still looks like a mess," Victoria can’t understand she didn’t take care about such a thing.

"I forgot, because of the commotion, and besides I think it wouldn’t be appropriate. I guess he’s not wounded, because I didn’t see blood on his clothes," she defends herself.

Felipe agrees to that because he had washed his fathers face and changed his clothes. (He did it after returning from his night ride.) The other two had to admit they also forgot about that.

Maria interrupts the conversation as dinner is served.

"Please, Maria, will you prepare another for Victoria," Don Alejandro requests.

"O no, Don Alejandro," Victoria contradicts, "I should get back to the tavern." Although she says it confidently, she really feels mixed up. Don Diego has always been like a brother to her. She wants to stay for him. So she will keep an eye on Leone. She doesn’t want to lose Diego to her. On the other hand she doesn’t like Leone taking care of Diego; therefore she does want to be with the De la Vega’s. But the most important reason for leaving is the difference in classes.

"Victoria, I am determined. You should be here. You two have always been like brother and sister. You’re a part of this family." Don Alejandro tries to change her mind. "I won’t let you ride alone at the tavern, now darkness has fallen."

"If it isn’t much trouble," she admits.

"Maria,..." Maria is on her way to prepare another bedroom before the Don could finish his order.

Together they walk to the dinning room. Leone has never seen such a delightful dinner served. Apparently this isn’t quite luxurious as it is on special occasions. Victoria has seen and joined such dinners over many times. It is true; she has been invited for dinner many times by Don Alejandro. Nevertheless Diego has asked her to join them so often; she can’t even count those happy evenings anymore. But now she misses Diego. Sometimes he can be very witty, but also can he bore her with his experiments. Just now he got hurt by one of them. She hopes he will recover very soon.

After dinner Leone sits in the library. Felipe is very restless. He takes his law books, but after fifteen minutes he drops them without having a word and leaves to have a look at Don Diego. He still sleeps. Victoria isn’t at ease either. So she announces she’s going to her room at ten o’clock. Just a half an hour later everybody is in their room, except for Felipe. He walks to Leone’s room, because he hasn’t had a chance to thanking her. He feels she can be trusted. She also got Diego a good alibi.

The light in her room is dimmed; maybe she’s already asleep. Silently he enters her room. The flame flickers in the air and places strange shadows on the wall. When Felipe approaches he gets his heart into his throat, as Leone suddenly sat up in bed with a gun in her hand. Seeing him, she apologizes and asks him if something is wrong.

He just wants to talk. He thanks her for helping his father and tells her what happened after Zorro was shot. He didn’t plan to do that, but she has something ... he cannot place it.

"How are you feeling now?" she looks at him searching the emotions in his face. He thanks her for listening and feels much better. His time to leave has come. After he closes her door he feels ashamed. He shouldn’t have entered her room. "If father finds out .."

He goes to his own room for some sleep.

Victoria can’t sleep. She’s feeling a little upset by being in her room. A room in the largest hacienda in the neighbourhood. She always feels comfort in their presence. "This room, it looks so… so not meant for me," she slips. She is wondering what’s going on with her. To be exact, what is she feeling? She doesn’t understand. Frustrated she gets dressed and walks to the library. Maybe she should read some poems, Diego always tells her. On her way to the room she continues thinking. Don Diego is always the traverse of Zorro. She sighs. Maybe Zorro was right a long time ago. She was staying at the hacienda when he said she should have a husband. Some one like Diego, but …When she passes Diego’s door, she hears him calling her name. She enters his room, "Diego?"

"Victoria!"

"Diego, I’m here."

"Those bandits" his voice sounds still weak, more like a murmur.

She realizes he is talking in his sleep. She walks to his bed and puts her hand on his face. He’s feeling a little warm, but it isn’t alarming. She’s a little relieved after hearing him calling for her. She takes a seat next to her friend’s bed. She remembered him sitting at her bed when she was wounded about three years ago. Time has flown away. She still has to admit Diego looks very handsome, even now when he is sleeping. Now Diego has found his peace again. His breathing sounds slow but strong. It has a relaxing influence on Victoria’s chaotic thoughts. Then she falls asleep.

 

 

 

Part 2

 

Fan fiction

Part 4