The Velvet Swan (Disney's Zorro Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight

Casamontero and I stood near the pile of boulders Zorro had led us to the last time he tried to teach us a lesson of following a trail. He had not told me to come here, but I knew he would show up eventually. He always seemed to know where I was and when. It was a strange thing, to be honest, and a little bit creepy. Why was he so interested in me? Why was he so keen on keeping me at the de la Vega's house? I still could not figure out why Bernardo had pretended to be deaf in the first place. Was he working with Zorro? Was that how Zorro knew so much about me?

I kept going back to what Diego had said about recognizing me. Perhaps he really had just recognized me that way. A small smile then formed on my lips. If Zorro was someone I knew really well, then I might be able to recognize him if I could get a good enough look. His mask did a pretty good job of concealing his true identity, but like Diego said, little things like hair and even the shape of a chin could give someone away if you knew them well enough.

"Senorita."

Glancing up, I found Zorro on top of the boulders, staring down at me. He hopped down and patted Casamontero, and this time, she didn't mind. In fact, she gently nudged his shoulder with her large head when he stopped petting her. While he was distracted with my horse, I took a closer look at his face, or at least, what was visible of it. 

He had a strong jawline and an adorable grin. Hold on.... that smile. I knew that smile. Before I could place it, Zorro looked at me, forcing me to stop inspecting his face so strangely. Trying to act natural, I cleared my throat and quickly thought up something to say. "Um... Senor. You promised me you would teach me how to fight. As you can see, I have my own sword now, but I am assuming you already knew that because it was you who left it, was it not?"

Zorro shrugged with a small smile. "Guilty."

Unsheathing my weapon, I got into a fighting stance and raised my eyebrows. "There is no time to waste. Let us begin."

My teacher produced his sword and got ready to fight, but he seemed hesitant. Something was bothering him, but I could not quite figure out what. Since he was taking so long to make a move, I stepped forward and slashed at him, Zorro blocking it with great speed and accuracy. Casamontero seemed to know that nothing was wrong, so she just stood there and watched with curiosity.

I swung at him a few more times before Zorro finally got that mischievous look on his face again, now starting to enjoy this. "Very well done, Rosa," he said proudly. "I have not taught you anything and you already know a lot."

"I had a friend back in Monterey who would fence often. He let me watch and even taught me a few tricks," I explained, blocking one of Zorro's advances.

Zorro took a few steps back as I swung at him. "Who is this friend you had? He seems to have taught you many things."

I was sure I heard jealousy in his voice. Why should Zorro be jealous? Well, he had kissed me the night before stashing that sword under my bed, but why? Why did he care about me at all? I jumped back, just barely dodging one of his swings, and dove behind a tree. "Why would you care about such a thing, Senor?"

He peeked around the tree trunk, blocking one of my blows. We both paused there for a moment. "You are a very curious case, Rosa, and you have many secrets. I am just trying to figure you out."

"Well, Senor Zorro, you have your secrets and I have mine," I replied, pushing him back and coming out from behind the tree. "There are things in my life that I would rather not discuss."

Zorro lowered his rapier and looked at me with intrigue. "Would you discuss these things with Don Diego?"

That took me by surprise. I stared at him in silence for a few moments before saying anything. "I suppose I would, yes. But... I need to build more trust and confidence in our relationship first. He seems to be hiding something from me, and believe me, I know when people are hiding things."